Paradox
by Darlantana
Summary: As the world crumbles around me, I know one thing for certain. I must go back...or I can never move forward.
1. Journal 1

_**Woo. I apologize for the horrendous delay in posting anything for, like, ever. Work jumped up and down on me and wouldn't let me go. Anyway, here's a story I've been messing with for quite some time...It's set in the future world of 2105 in the FF universe. Enjoy!**_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. _**

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__February 5, 2114_

_Memories._

_It's funny how something can mean so much to one person, but nothing to everyone else. I know they care…I know they are trying to understand. But it's impossible to sympathize when there are no words to describe the feeling of loss—the gut-wrenching, terrifying feeling of not knowing who you are, or where you come from._

_Or in my special case,_ what _you are._

_Actually, the not-knowing I can deal with. It's something I've come to live with, all these years. What really gets me is the fact that I _could_ know, if I only let myself. But I can't. I can't for one simple reason. If I let those memories come back to me, I will die. Not physically—though that is what it would lead up to, eventually—but mentally. I know, without knowing how or why, I just _know_—that if I let myself remember, I will lose my mind. Even writing now, I can feel the insanity, haunting the edges of my consciousness. I can hear the mocking whispers, calling out to me:_

Let go…remember…end the pain, the uncertainty…_perish_.

_I _want_ to remember…sometimes so badly that it hurts…hurts almost as much as the fact that I can't remember…but then I feel myself start to slip and it reminds me why I must hold on, at least for a while longer. I have promises to keep._

_The rebels have been good to me, ever since they found me and brought me to their base. They had no reason to help, and every reason not to, for fear of spies from their enemies. But they did anyway, and I must stay with them long enough to repay my debt. I know I had honor once…someone taught it to me, so long ago…it's the only memory I can allow that doesn't let the madness seep in. Though, it is hard to be honorable when shedding blood is your only hope of survival._

_But I'm getting off point. The fact of the matter is, when this war is over…if it ever is…then, I can let go. But until that time comes, I must stay sane, and finish the job. Until tomorrow, then…if there is one._


	2. Chapter 1

**_The first few chapters are fairly short but I promise they'll pick up as the story continues. Enjoy!_**

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February 5, 2115

Blink. Blink.

Donatello stared at the blinking cursor blankly. He knew it meant something, knew that there was _something_ he was supposed to be doing with it. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

The slight whooshing sound of the lab's doors brought him out of his stupor with a start. He stared again at the blinking cursor. Oh. _Right_. He was supposed to type something there, another search, _another_ search out of the billions of useless searches he'd typed over the last ten years.

"Coffee, Don," a voice interrupted his bleak musings again, as someone dropped a steaming mug into his hand. He blinked down at it, still unsure why he was having such a hard time thinking. The person nudged his hand. "_Drink_, Don."

_Oh. Right. Drink…that's what you do with coffee_. Donatello leaned back and downed the entire glass in one gulp. He immediately regretted it, as the hot liquid burned down the back of his throat, but with the heat, and the caffeine, he finally could think clearly again.

"Thanks, Cody," he said gratefully, smiling back at the red-headed man-boy as he sat down across from him. Cody had been only a few years younger than Don when he had come to live with him, but ten years had put him in his early twenties—and Don himself into his _mid_-twenties.

"No problem, Donny," Cody replied. "You have been up all night, do you realize that?"

Donatello rubbed his eyes tiredly, setting the empty coffee mug on the console behind him. Funny how even this far in the future, a coffee mug still looked just like a coffee mug. "I know. It's no wonder I feel like I've been run over by the Hovershell."

"You look it, too, brainiac," another voice interrupted from the doorway. Raphael walked in, followed by Michelangelo. Donatello took a minute to study his brothers critically. Neither looked like they had slept much, either. Of course, ten years of troubled nights would do that to you.

Michelangelo started talking to Cody about something or other, and Don let his mind drift, way back, to ten years ago. It seemed like forever. It was so ordinary back then, so…normal. Well, as normal as anything could get for a mutated rat and his pack of giant, mutated turtle sons.

They had been living their lives under the city streets of New York, venturing to the surface only to battle evil with their ninja skills, living in the shadows and doing what good they could. It was a pretty thankless existence, but then again, they had been happy, honoring the teachings of their master and just…living. And then, one day, a lonely boy with a genius mind had decided to take a peek into their lives and had accidentally drawn them ninety-nine years into the future, to the year 2105.

_How our lives changed, then_, Don mused. He smiled slightly as Mikey said something and Raph smacked him on the back of the head. _Well, _some_ things changed, anyway_.

Cody was that lonely boy, and it turned out that he was the great-grandson of Casey Jones and April O'Neal—two of their closest friends in the twenty-first century, at least. Cody had read about him and his brothers in April's journal, and brought them to the future. It was really strange at first…everything was so different and confusing and completely beyond even their wildest imaginings. But after a while, after many failed attempts to return them to their own time, the Turtles and their master had adapted to twenty-second century life, and began to fit in. After all, they could still use their ninja skills for good, and this time, thanks to all the many alien races inhabiting Earth, they could do so without needing to hide in the shadows, or worry about anyone being afraid of what they were. It was nice. But turtle luck, as Raph would say, began to rear its ugly head once again.

Cody's estranged uncle, Darius Dun, was the start of it all. Cody had inherited the ownership of O'Neal Tech, a company devoted to manufacturing and progressing Earth technology, from his parents at a very young age. Because of this, Darius Dun was entrusted with caring for Cody—and his company. He manipulated his young ward, keeping him oblivious in his penthouse, until Don and his brothers had come along that is, using the company for his own nefarious purposes. One of those purposes had been manufacturing weapons for the highest bidder.

When the truth had finally come out—several months after they had first arrived in 2105—Darius had fled, and the burden had fallen on Cody's shoulders to fix the damage his uncle had done to his company's reputation. As such, the turtles had willingly volunteered to help. They set out from Earth with the mission to find and destroy as many of the weapons that they could locate. And that's when things went horribly wrong.

"Don. Donny. Earth to Donatello!" Donatello was jerked out of his thoughts as Michelangelo reached down and jerked hard on his chair, almost knocking him off. Don automatically reached up and smacked his brother, steadying himself with his other hand on the computer console.

"Ow!"

"What?"

"You were lost in la-la-land again, Donny, that's what," Raphael said irritably. "So spill. What's up?"

"Nothing's up, Raph," Don said. "I was just thinking."

"About ten years ago."

Not a question.

"You really gotta stop blaming yourself for that, bro," Michelangelo chimed in.

"I will, Mikey," Don returned. "When _you_ stop blaming yourself for it."

Mikey subsided into silence. Raph looked away, grunting and spinning one sai in his hand, a sure sign he was uncomfortable. Cody, too, was looking at the floor, his empty coffee mug dangling from limp fingers.

_Funny how we all blame ourselves for something that really isn't anyone's fault in the first place_, Don thought ruefully. He glanced around at his little gloomy family. They were all distant, their thoughts going to a place he knew well. The same place his own thoughts were headed…this same day, ten years ago. The day he'd failed his brother.

Like, don't like? I'd love to know :D


	3. Journal 2

_Oh my goodness. It's been so long, I'm so sorry!! Work decided it would be a good idea to dump an entire project in my lap and give me an impossible deadline. Bows My apologies! I hope I can do consistent updates now that life has finally decided to settle into a semi-normal pattern. And, I retired my pc, fondly known as Wonky (thanks for the title, IC :D) and bought myself a brand new iMac. That should improve my writing and posting abilites as well! :D _

_As always, thanks for your patience and enjoy!!_

March 8, 2114

Quiet. At least for now. We've driven them back, kept them from our hiding place once again, but for how long? How long can the universe continue to ignore the danger looming on its doorstep? How long can I ignore the danger looming on my own?

_It happened again…a reminder…a reminder of the things I am trying so hard to keep forgotten. I was going through storage, looking for anything else we could use as bandages—so many wounded this time!—when I came across an old scrap of purple fabric. It was too small to be useful, but it tugged at my heart—and my memories. I couldn't help it. I knew what it was. I knew, but I tried not to. I sat down with it in my hand, and suddenly the memories tried to come flooding back, and with it, the madness, the terror and the pain. So much pain…_

_I stopped them again, these feelings…just as I helped stop the monsters…but how long can I keep it up? How long can my comrades keep it up before the enemy overwhelms us and lays waste to the universe? How long can the governments keep ignoring the greatest threat of all time? We are failing…and their…_politics_…keep them at each other's throats, while we fall and die. But I'll keep trying. We all will. Because we made a promise._

_I just wish I could remember my other promises…_


	4. Chapter 2

February 5, 2115

Donatello's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up in bed with a startled cry. He sat for several moments in the semi-darkness, trying in vain to calm his racing heart. That dream…the same dream…would he never be free of it?

_Not until you let go of your guilt_, a voice sneered in the back of his mind. _But you can't, can you…because that would be giving up_. _That would be failing…again_.

Don buried his face in his hands, resisting the burning sensation at the back of his eyes. How long would this go on? Why couldn't he let it go? Why couldn't any of them let it go?

_Because he's your brother_, the same voice said, softer this time. _And he would do the same for you_.

"Leo…" he whispered softly. Then Don did something he hadn't allowed himself to do in ten years. He let the memories in. They flooded his subconscious as fresh as the day it had happened. He let them in, and forced himself to relive every moment. Penance...

The last weapon. Finally! It had taken almost a year to track down the weapons Darius Dun had forged, but it had been well worth it. They were on their way to destroy the last of the weapons they had been able to find. Once they had, Cody's company would return to its good standing, and they could finally get back to Earth and work on the time window.

_Don flicked on the auto-pilot and leaned back in his seat, sharing a rare smile with Raphael. He could tell his brother was as excited as he was. Mikey was giggling to himself in the back of the Hovershell, twirling his nunchucks. Leo was still at the forward controls next to him, intently studying the map on the screen in front of him. Raph leaned forward and gave his oldest brother a light nudge._

_"Come on, Leo, stop messin' with that. Aren't you the least bit happy we're almost done?"_

_The blue-masked ninja glanced back at him. "Of course I am, Raph, but just because we're almost done, doesn't mean we can relax, just yet. There's still one more thing out there that we have to destroy."_

_"Aww, lighten up, dude!" Mikey chimed in cheerily. "We'll take it out just like all the others!"_

_Leo sighed and leaned back. Don knew what he was thinking. He understood his brother's misgivings—this was supposed to be the most dangerous of all the weapons forged by Darius—but his other brothers were right, too. They had accomplished a lot in the past year and deserved a little bit of celebration. At least while they were en-route, anyway._

_"That's more like it," Raph said, his voice satisfied. "Now break out the champagne!"_

_"We don't got any," Mikey answered. "Even if we did, Serling would pop a gasket." He had already left his seat, and was rummaging through the storage shelf on the left side of the cabin they occupied. The Hovershell wasn't a large ship—it had enough room for the four of them, Splinter and Cody, though that was crowding things a bit—and no cargo hold to speak of, so Cody had built in smaller shelves under the consoles housing the ship's main computer terminals. Four seats took up most of the room toward the front of the cockpit, all but one with a computer terminal in front of it. The computers housed navigation and weapons controls. The front-most seat on the left was the pilot's chair, and held all the controls necessary for piloting the ship. All in all, a very efficient system, Don couldn't help thinking, and he had designed it a hundred years ago. _

_Mikey suddenly grinned and popped his head up over the shelf's door, the orange tails of his ninja mask bobbing. "We got apple cider, though, that good enough?"_

_"Perfect," Don agreed, and got up to help Mikey with the cups. Once everyone had some cider, Don stood and raised his drink in a toast. "To going home!"_

_"To going home!" his brothers echoed, and each downed his share in one enormous gulp._

_They had settled down after that, Raph and Mikey each taking a nap while Leonardo went deep into meditation. Don sat for a while, watching them, thinking back on all the battles they had fought up to this point. _We're probably lucky to be alive_, he reflected. It had not been easy, recovering those weapons…and they had made many enemies, especially of the Triceratons. It seemed the race of horned dinosaur-men had been Darius's biggest clients. Because he and his brothers were under the public support of PGA President Bishop, the Triceratons could do little directly to stop them, but Donatello feared the repercussions that might come later. He didn't regret it, though…Cody deserved the help and they owed it to April and Casey, too. He wondered then what his old friends would have been doing right now, back in 2005…_

_"We're here."_

_Don woke up with a start. Leo was looking at him with a slight smile._

_"What? What happened?"_

_"You fell asleep," his brother replied simply._

_"I did?" Don hurriedly straightened himself in his chair. "Why didn't you wake me up?"_

_"I just did."_

_"_Before_, I meant. We've been flying for several hours! We could have hit an asteroid belt, or ran into Triceratons, or…or…"_

_Leo laughed as he ran out of reasons. "Well, we didn't, and I can fly a ship too, you know."_

_"I know," Don said irritably. "But you need to sleep sometime, too."_

_Leo smiled again. "I meditated…it's enough for me. Besides, you guys have done most of the work in this operation. It's easier to lead than to be led, or so I've been told. All I do is bark orders." He glanced at Raphael. "Better wake up the sleeping beauties so we can get this over with."_

_Don looked at his brother askance…they both knew that statement wasn't true. Leonardo carried a burden that Donatello knew he would never have the stomach for. But he didn't press the matter, rising instead to wake his other brothers._

_Raph came awake with his usual abruptness, and Don sidestepped his out-flung arm neatly. Mikey, on the other hand, could sleep through Armageddon. There was only one thing he woke up for easily—food. Reaching into the cupboard next to Mikey's seat, Donatello grabbed the box of cheesy, cracker-like food that the ever-hungry turtle had picked up at their last supply run. Where he had found them, Don would never know._

_As soon as he opened the box, the odor of stale cheese wafted out, and Mikey sprang out of his seat like a shot, swiping the box from Don's grasp and stuffing a handful into his mouth. He blinked at his empty hand for a minute…it was easy to forget how fast Michelangelo could move when he wanted to. The purple-banded turtle looked at Raphael, who rolled his eyes._

_"Good, you're all up," Leo's cool voice said from behind them. "Gather 'round."_

_They all obeyed, Mikey still munching on his cheese snacks. Don realized that the ship's movement had changed. Leo must have switched it to orbit. Sure enough, out the front windshield he could see the red-glowing surface of Ceratopa, one of the outlying planets in the control of the Triceraton Empire._

_"Okay," Leo began. He touched the screen of the navigational computer, and a transparent geographical map of Ceratopa appeared, hovering above the computer screen. "We need to make this short and sweet. The less time this takes, the better. Ceratopa has a PGA base here." He touched a point on the map and a red dot started blinking. "We can land the ship and refuel. Our target is here." Another blinking dot, a few miles from the first. "I thought about going in on foot, but that'll take too long. The PGA only has a tenuous hold out here; we're pretty much on our own. So, we'll have to fly in." Leo stopped and looked up at Don. "That's where you come in. Do you think you can knock their computers out long enough for us to get the ship in and out?"_

_Don gave his leader a cocky smile. "Do chickens lay eggs? Triceraton technology isn't all that difficult."_

_"Good." Leo nodded once. "Once the system is down, we'll have however long Donny can keep it down to find the target and destroy it."_

_"Sure help if we knew what it was," Mikey said._

_Raph snorted. "Just look for the thing that's most heavily guarded."_

_"Hunh. Just looking for an excuse to bash some Triceraton heads, Raphie-boy?"_

_"I _told_ you not to call me that."_

_"Nyanya…Raphie-boy."_

_"Mikey…"_

_"Guys, focus!" Leo interrupted. He scowled at Mikey. "As much as I hate to admit it, Raph has a point. They'll be really careful with this thing, especially since I'm sure rumors have gotten out about all the other weapons we destroyed."_

_"For once, Leo _agrees_ with Raph," Mikey said gleefully. "And _Raph_ has a point! Will wonders never cease?"_

_His red-clad brother glared at him. "Will _you_ ever shut up?"_

_Leo silenced the two with a glance. "Let's do this, then."_


	5. Journal 3

July 30, 2114

I'm at my wit's end. The situation is deteriorating fast and we still have received no help from our so-called friends of the Pan-Galactic Alliance. What are they waiting for, an invitation? We lost another commander today. A good man, Thisthel was. Smart, capable, he could look at a situation and determine exactly what needed to be done to come out on top. He died in my arms. I'll never forget what he said.

"_Hope," he said to me, as the light dimmed in his eyes. "Never lose that hope. No matter what happens…we die so others live…and someday, somewhere, someone will thank us for that. And we'll be avenged. For each man that falls, another will rise in defense in his place…"_

_I can't help but wonder if what he says is true…because for each one of us that falls, we come closer and closer to extinction. And that hope he speaks of dies a little bit in each one of us. But I hold on to his words…they are some of the few things worth holding on to, anymore. This is insane, really…or maybe I am._

_How can you tell if you're insane, anyway? Maybe I let the madness in…maybe this is all in my head. But even as I think this, I know it's not true. I'm here because I know that there is something out there that's worth fighting for. Someone…_

_I can't let myself remember…but that doesn't mean I can't still fight for it._


	6. Chapter 3

Woo, another chapter and I'm actually somewhat on time! Yay for that. At any rate, enjoy and please review!!

February 5, 2115

Don rubbed his eyes. It was hard, remembering…but at the same time, he almost felt a little bit better. He glanced at the clock on the small table by his bed. It read 7:30 pm. _Eight hours_, he thought. Eight hours since he'd pulled his all-nighter, ten years almost to the minute that Leo had…Don shook his head, and returned to his previous thoughts. The story wasn't over, yet…

_They made it to the PGA base without incident, refueling and mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming task. Don spent the time busy at his computer, checking the Triceraton security at their next destination. As he thought, it was glaringly simple. For a race as warlike and impulsive as the Triceratons, though, it wasn't really surprising. Sure, they were more advanced and dangerous when they'd invaded Earth the first time, but it seemed here in the future, the Earthlings had caught up, and so had Don himself. Not to mention what he'd learned in his time with Cody._

_He looked up as Leo entered the ship, followed closely by his darker-colored brothers._

_"You set?" Leo asked._

_Don gave him a smile. "Of course."_

_"Good. It's time to go." He dropped down into the pilot's chair as Mikey and Raph took up their usual positions in the back seats._

_"This is so totally rocks!" Mikey exclaimed as the Hovershell powered up and began its ascent. "Here we are, the four heroes, about to finally rid the world of the deadly weapons of Darius Dun!" He made sounds worthy of any comic book, giggling in his maniacal way the whole time. Raphael lifted his hand to smack his brother, caught Leonardo looking at him, and thought better of it. Leo smiled slightly, and Don realized that a bit of anxiety lay behind his brother's calm demeanor, and he was glad for Mikey's enthusiasm. Their exuberant littlest brother did have a way of lightening the mood._

_"I've got a lock on their security," he told Leo as they flew up into the cloudless, reddish-orange sky. The planet's twin suns cast streaks of light across the computer console, and Don lifted one three-fingered hand to combat the glare. "Okay, just a sec, and…there!" His code broke through, and the whole of the system was in his grasp._

_"Good," his eldest brother answered. "Switching to invisible mode now."_

_"Yes!" Mikey sniggered. Don smiled. His excitable brother enjoyed invisible mode; it made him feel like a superhero. The tech-savvy turtle couldn't help but be smug—he'd thought of it before they left and it had come in handy in their mission, and he'd 'borrowed' the knowledge of how to do it from the Street Phantoms. Needless to say, Jammerhead had not been pleased._

_The flight to the Triceraton base was short and uneventful. They could see the base from quite a distance off, its searchlights flashing. As they drew nearer, Don estimated the base had to stretch several miles in all directions. The stronghold sat on a high hill, littered with broken boulders and scraggly trees. Strange looking domes, as well as the squatter shapes of rectangular buildings, dotted the rocky hillside. From his current vantage point, he could see a fence of sorts, made completely out of lasers, broken at regular intervals by tall, stout watchtowers. Smart, Donatello thought. The hill was the highest point for miles around, surrounded by nothing but open, unforgiving desert. Any approach would be spotted long before it could reach the base, thereby giving the Triceratons time to prepare. Well, any approach but _theirs_, anyway. With his computer hacked in deep into their systems, he could keep any security measures they might have for detecting intruders completely ignorant._

_"Where now, Donny?" Leo asked softly._

_Frowning, Don swept his gaze over the assorted buildings, and then pulled up a schematic from the computer in front of him, fed it into the Hovershell's main computer, and pulled up a big transparent copy for his brothers to view. "As far as I can see, those circular structures house mainly mess halls and sleeping quarters. The two largest are arenas—we all know how keen the Triceratons are on brutal sports. The rectangular buildings are research facilities, looks like—" He tapped a few keys and the picture shifted slightly, "as well as a large factory for manufacturing weapons." He frowned as he studied the picture a bit more. "This base is bigger than I thought. It must house thousands of Triceratons, comfortably."_

_"No matter," Leo replied. "We won't give them a chance to use their numbers against us."_

_"That's not what worries me. It' s the fact that this base is full, so far from the Triceraton home world. What if they're up to something?"_

_Raphael snorted. "I bet when we take away their newest toy, whatever plans they're makin' will go down the cosmic sewer."_

_"Awww, Raphie, did you come up with that all by yourself?" Mikey asked sweetly._

_THWACK!_

_"OW!!" Glaring at Raph, Mikey was about to retort, then decided to glare out the window instead. After a moment, he brightened, then asked, "What's up with all the buildings being orange? That's _my_ favorite color, not a bunch of stupid horn-heads."_

_"Hah," Raph said. "Maybe that means that _you're_ a stupid horn-head, too."_

_"Hey!"_

_"Whatever the Triceratons are up to, it's not our concern," Leo interrupted forcefully. "We came for the weapon. The PGA can handle the rest."_

_Don sighed. "I guess you're right. Let's see…off to the north side, I can see some hangars. Let me see if I can find a relatively empty one." He scanned around, using both infrared and the Triceraton's own cameras to peek into each building, dismissing the first two before settling on the third, on the farthest northern edge of the base. "That one isn't being used. We can land there."_

_Leonardo nodded once and immediately shifted course, angling northward, and Don went back to his computer, making sure that they remained undetected. It was a few scary moments, each brother instinctively holding his breath, as they passed silently over the laser-fence and into the base's airspace, but the place remained blessedly silent. Don looked down at the guards. The number of Triceratons he could see walking around still bothered him. Why so many? What was their purpose?_

_He glanced at his brothers, all of which had similar expressions of unease, even Mikey. They could be walking into something big, but Leonardo was right. Intergalactic politics was not their problem. Once they got home—and they _would_, Don refused to accept anything else—the state of affairs in this century would be out of their hands anyway. It was kind of odd to think that if not for the time window, they would be long dead by now. He never gave much thought about dying…Leo was more attuned to the spiritual side of things. Suddenly he wondered if his oldest brother ever thought about death. Stupid question. Leo thought about it all the time, so they wouldn't have to. Thanks to that, he always seemed to know what to do to keep them from it for as long as possible. Belatedly, he realized his blue-masked brother was looking at him, and wiped the grim expression from his face._

_"Here," he confirmed, in response to Leo's raised eye-ridge. He looked away as Leo guided the ship down silently, and got his suddenly morbid thoughts under control. Nobody was going to die today._

_Piece of cake," Raph remarked as the ship touched down in the empty hangar, invisible to anything but sonar, which Don was currently blocking._

_"Yeah," Mikey added. "Until we find the thingamagig."_

_"Shh!" Don hissed. At that second, two Triceratons armed with blasters entered the bay, apparently on security rounds. The four terrapins froze, even though sound didn't travel beyond the protective glass of the ship. Leo looked especially tense, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. Don watched him with a frown. Leonardo was the calmest of his brothers, the most levelheaded. It took a lot to shake him, but his brother also had an uncanny ability to sense trouble before it happened. The purple-clad turtle could only hope that his leader was not getting one of his infamous premonitions right now. He held his breath, but the Triceratons just muttered to each other, their guttural language inaudible, before turning and marching back out. Don allowed himself to breathe again._

_"Okay, we have four minutes before they come back again. More than enough time to get in." Don touched a button on his computer screen, transferring the codes he was using into his portable wrist communicator. That way, he could still monitor security while moving through the base. No way he was going to let his brothers tackle this last job alone._

_"Right," Leo replied. "Entry points?"_

_"Ventilation shaft," Don replied. "To the left."_

_Leo nodded, then opened the hatch and jumped silently out. The others were right on his heels, Donatello last. He hurried after his brothers, looking around the hangar as he went. It was of the smaller variety, made to house the jet-sized battle cruisers the Triceraton's used in close combat. The other two hangars he had inspected earlier were full of the larger battleships the dinosaur-men employed. Massive, looking incongruously like over-sized ice cream cones, the battleships consisted of a conical base made entirely of some kind of super-hard rock capped by a protective shield of clear glass, like a bubble. Inside the bubble, an entire base could fit comfortably, and dotting all the outside edges were smaller versions of the same ship. They were designed specifically for invasion, the purple-clad terrapin knew. He'd experienced that first hand—twice. He frowned again, a sense of unease settling in his gut. A base almost at capacity and full of invasion ships? What were they up to? And more importantly, what kind of weapon did Darius make that would give the Triceratons the courage to defy the PGA? His expression hardened as he joined his brothers at the shaft. It was a good thing they were about to put a stop to it. _

_As he reached his siblings, his irrepressible brother giggled. "Even a hundred years in the future, everyone still uses ventilation shafts. You'd think they'd have learned from all the spy movies by now."_

_"I don't know, Mikey," Raph returned. "In a hundred years, _you _haven't learned anythin' yet."_

_"Guys. Please. _Focus_." Leo said through gritted teeth. He pulled the grate off the shaft and clambered in. Don was next, climbing awkwardly over the lip of the shaft's metal edge._

_"Gee, someone's touchy," Raph said and followed Don in._

_"Yeah," Mikey added. "Didja wake up on the wrong side of your shell this morning?" He climbed in last, pulling the grate shut after them._

_Leo gave an audible sigh in the sudden darkness. "Sorry. But something's not right."_

_"You mean besides the alarming amount of activity at this remote base?" Don asked. "I thought the same thing."_

_"Whaddya think's going on, Donny?" Mikey queried._

_"I don't know, Mikey. But there are a lot of ships here. Invasion ships."_

_"Looks like they might be gettin' ready for war," Raph added. "Well, _another_ war, anyway."_

_"But why? They figured out whatever problems they were having at home and are in peace talks with most of their enemies, so why would they be arming up now?" Don wondered. "And why so far from, well, anything?"_

_Mikey snorted. "Who knows what goes on in the minds of giant talking reptiles anyway?"_

_Dead silence, broken a minute later by Mikey's innocent, "What?"_

_"Maybe this base is controlled by one of the gangs?" Raph suggested. Don couldn't see him in the darkness of the shaft, but he could tell from his tone that Raph was rolling his eyes at Mikey's earlier comment. Michelangelo giggled, apparently aware of his red-masked brother's annoyance. Don shook his head, returning his thoughts to the matter at hand._

_"No. It can't be. The gangs were disbanded, remember? Plus, I recognized the seals on the uniforms of those guards from earlier. They're the official seals of the Triceraton Republic." Don frowned and rubbed his chin. "Unless they're wearing them to make the PGA think that they are acting under the orders of the Senate..." _

_"It doesn't matter," Leo interjected. "The only thing we can do is what we came for. We'll warn Bishop about the rest, and he can take care of it. Which way, Donny?"_

_"Um, go about a hundred yards, then turn left," Don instructed. Leo obliged and few minutes later they were heading down another shaft. It was dark in the passage, the only light coming from the glowing computer screens of their communicators. A gift from Cody upon their arrival in 2105, the compact computers were affixed to gauntlets they wore over their left forearms. They allowed them access to computer systems, and also served as tracking devices. Don grinned. They actually put the shell cells to shame._

_They continued on in near silence. The metal of the grate was cold against Don's olive-green skin. Leo ghosted ahead of him, obediently turning left or right at his instruction. He followed the straightest path the ventilation would allow, stopping every so often to check his computer, or when the sounds of booted feet echoed below them. They traveled quite some time before Raph asked, "How do ya even know where we're going, Donny? We don't even know what we're lookin' for."_

_Don smirked, though no one could see it in the darkness. "You said it yourself, bro. Find the place with the highest security. In this case, it's the place using the most energy. If this weapon is as dangerous as we believe, it'll need a lot of power."_

_"Oooohhh," his youngest brother chimed in from behind Raph. "Maybe it's a giant laser that they plan on blowing planets up with…or maybe it's something that will fix Raph's ugly face!"_

_Don didn't have to look to know that Raph was reaching behind him. Hoping to forestall what would probably become a loud argument, he started reaching back himself to stop his hotheaded brother. Leo's voice did the job for him._

_"There it is."_

_Don hurried forward as quietly as he could. Their argument forgotten, his brothers followed just as quickly. Leo moved to give them room and soon they were all gathered around a rather large grate, looking down into a seemingly empty hallway. The Triceratons sure had a fondness for their own skin color. The entire hallway was painted uniform orange. Orange walls, orange tiles—even the _grout_ was orange. _

_Don quickly checked the schematics he'd hacked from the security system—sure enough, a little ways from their current position, a high power source showed as a brilliant dot on his screen. He looked at Leonardo and whispered, "How'd you know?"_

_"Eight guards and a doorway," Leo replied quietly. Don couldn't see them, being at the wrong angle, but he took Leo's word for it. "Can you tell how many are inside, Don?"_

_"Sure thing, boss." Don typed a few commands, and an infrared scan came to life on his wrist. He whistled. "Wow. There's a bunch. Ten…no, twenty." He scanned the rest of the room, one eye-ridge climbing. He looked up at his blue-masked brother. "Thirty. And whatever weapon they have in there, it's glowing red-hot."_

_"Thirty?" Raph demanded, rubbing a hand over his dark-green scalp. "What kinda thing can they be guarding in there?"_

_"Hah," Mikey said. "Told you it was a big laser."_

_"Shut it, Mikey." Raph glanced at Leo. "So now what, Fearless Leader?"_

_Leo grinned, a predatory smile. "We employ the art of distraction. Donatello, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve?"_

_"Hmm," the techno-turtle replied thoughtfully. "How about I blow something up?"_

_"Yeah!" Mikey and Raph cheered at the same time, though quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of the eight Triceratons down the hall._

_Leo rolled his eyes at them, but nodded. "Sounds good. Make it loud and make it important. We want as many of them out of that room as possible."_

_"With pleasure," the purple-banded ninja replied, already scouring the base for a suitable target. Somewhere that would attract the Triceraton's attention, but would be empty at this hour. It wouldn't help their cause in the slightest if they slaughtered any Triceratons. "Hmm, perfect." His index finger traced over the screen, a grin spreading across his face. "Say goodbye to your weapons factory!"_


	7. Journal 4

_Man, I've got to get myself a day planner or something. Sorry about the delay!! I had this chapter ready and then my cousin got married, and of course, there was family drama…and well, I'm sure you get the picture. Thanks for waiting, enjoy, and please review! I love hearing from people. :D_

_--_

_December 31, 2114_

_Blood. The smell is everywhere. I can't get it out of my nostrils, it clings there like a live thing. We are dying. We are _losing_. And there is nothing I can do about it. I've tried every tactic, every strategy, every single battle scenario I can think of and it is all for naught. We can't hold them anymore. _

_And no help will be coming. I finally found out why the PGA has been ignoring us. It is simply because they have no clue that we exist. How that is possible I have no idea, but I now know who is responsible. _

_The Triceratons._

_All this time, they have fought with us. Stood by us, aided our calls for help. Or so we thought. But they have betrayed us. They have been in league with the destroyers all along. Each time we sent a ship for help, they knew, and they intercepted it. Each plan we developed to defeat our enemies, they revealed _to_ our enemies. They _want_ the creatures to destroy the universe so they can claim it as their own. In return, they have aided in the deaths of millions of innocents._

_Just hours ago—has it really been hours?—they turned on us in the middle of battle. Many were cut down before they could comprehend what was happening. For the rest of us, it was a tooth and nail struggle just to break free. We fled. What else could we do? Allies had just become enemies in the blink of an eye. We fled and now hide, the only thing we can do since the Triceratons know all of our bases and where to find them. I know what we have to do. But I will let them rest a little bit longer._

_Come tomorrow, we will make a final break for freedom. And when we do, we will spread word of this calamity to all the universe. Because, as of now… _

_We are the only warning they've got._


	8. Chapter 4

February 5, 2115

As Leo had hoped, the explosion was loud, and it was _very_ effective. Donatello found himself smiling slightly as he recalled his brothers' reactions; Mikey giggling, Raph slamming a fist excitedly into his palm, and Leo's quiet smile. They were on the right track, so close to going home. It was amazing how quickly things could change.

_The explosion rocked the ventilation shaft, nearly causing all of them to lose their balance and tumble through the grate. Don steadied himself against the side of the shaft, just as guttural shouts broke out down the hallway, along with the sound of heavy booted feet. An alarm began to wail as smoke also began filtering down the hall. The factory was fairly close to their position, which was one of the reasons why Don chose it. It was far enough to keep damage to them and their current surroundings to a minimum, but close enough to attract immediate attention. As a bonus, the smoke provided instant cover._

_Leonardo gave him a wide smile as the smoke began to fill the corridor, obscuring the orange tiled floor. "Donny, you're a genius."_

_"Yeah, brainiac," his red-clad brother added. "Did you plan the smoke, too?"_

_Don was tempted to tell them that he had, but decided against it. "No, but it works. Let me see if we're good to go." He checked his scans again. Perfect. The majority of the Triceratons had left the room and was headed the opposite direction, towards the factory. He met Leo's gaze. "Let's do it."_

_Leo responded by grasping the grate and pulling it back in one motion. He gestured for his brothers to precede him, and they did, dropping one by one silently into the hall. Don looked up as Leo followed, leaving the grate partially open. It would make an excellent get-away if they had to beat a hasty retreat._

_Silent as the smoke drifting around them, the four turtles crept down the corridor, intently listening for any sound. Leo, who was in the lead as usual, stopped on the left side of the orange double-doors. Orange_ metal_. Don shook his head as he stopped right behind his brother._

_The smoke was thick, but he could see the doors were open a crack, a tiny bit of reddish light shining through. From the weapon? Perhaps. Leo glanced back at him and raised his hands, fingers flashing in an intricate pattern that Donatello knew like he knew his own name. Ninja hand-talk, they liked to call it. In their line of work, communication was essential, but at the same time, so was absolute silence. Because of this, they had developed an entire language of hand signals. It wasn't normal sign language—and if you weren't a ninja turtle or mutated rat, you most likely wouldn't be able to decipher it. _

How many left? _Leo signed._

Eight. _He signed back. His brother made a face. Don agreed wholeheartedly. Eight meant two for each of them, which also meant that noise would be unavoidable. Triceratons were as strong as small mountains, and fought as well as the ninja themselves. Of course, being blood-thirsty, war-crazy, horned psychopaths helped, too. However, with the fire surely raging in the weapons factory he'd detonated, and the alarm wailing over their heads, hopefully the rest of the Triceratons would be too busy to notice their next little engagement. Leo seemed to be sharing his thoughts. He motioned to Mikey and Raph, then to Don and himself, and his fingers flashed in hand-talk._

Mikey, Raph, from the right. Don, you're with me. Make it fast.

_They all nodded. Mike and Raph slipped across the hall to the right side of the door. Leo waited only long enough for them to get settled, then pushed on his side of the double doors and darted through. Don saw his other brothers move as he followed Leo. The smoke was barely a mist on the ground in the room, the double doors effectively blocking most of it out, but the surprise of the remaining Triceratons was unmistakable. Leo vaulted over the first two, leaving them for Don, and charged the remaining two on their side of the chamber. A roar from across the room alerted them to Raph's presence, as well as Mikey's gleeful laughter._

_Don slid to a halt before his quarry, one hand rocketing over his shoulder to grasp the end of his staff. The Triceratons stared stupidly at him for a moment, caught completely off guard. It was all the opening he needed. He whipped the Bo out and across, taking the legs out from underneath one of his foes, and brought it straight back up, catching the second reptile directly in the face. It dropped like a felled tree. The first Triceraton recovered quickly, rolling to its feet and whipping out its own weapon, which resembled a long-handled trident. It began to glow red as the dinosaur-man roared and charged, bring the trident down in a mighty overhand slash. Don dodged to one side and whipped his staff around to his front, spinning lightly on one heel and using his momentum to smash it against his opponent's lower back. The Triceraton roared again, this time in pain, and it's tail lashed out, narrowly missing as Don rolled out of the way._

_"Time to put an end to this, big guy," he muttered. Don's Bo began to glow a muted purple and he spun it, faster and faster until it looked like a spinning lavender disk of pure energy. The Triceraton had barely raised its weapon when Don brought his staff out of the spin, whipping it forward in a horizontal sweep. The pent-up energy he had built rocketed out from the end of the Bo, slamming into his foe's chest and sending it crashing into a pile of crates stacked up against the left wall. _

_Don straightened up, smirking as he observed both his opponents sprawled gracelessly on the ground at his feet. Piece of cake, indeed. He then looked up to check on his brothers._

_Across the chamber, Mikey was leaping around like a wild thing, flinging taunts in tandem with striking out with his whirling weapons. The Triceratons were large, and relatively fast, but there were few in the world that could match Mikey's speed, when he put his mind to it. As such, the horned creatures were roaring and swinging wildly with their weapons, and essentially coming nowhere near to hitting their annoying target._

_Raph, on the other hand, fought in silence, bringing his strength to bear in a battle of sheer brute force. He was the only one of them who could effectively block a direct strike from their mountainous foes, and not numb his arms in the process. Doing so right at that moment, he met his one of his opponent's trident with both sai before twisting his body to the right, bringing the weapon down and out of line with his head. The metal of his bladed weapons began to glow red. Don smirked. In that state, his brother's pronged blades could cut through almost anything. With seemingly no effort, Raphael jerked his hands apart, his sai effectively cutting the trident in half, and used his enemy's sudden shift in balance to vault over its shoulders using the horned head as a springboard. He landed with catlike grace on the small mountain of crates against the wall. Even across the room, Don could see Raphael's triumphant smirk._

_"Goodnight."_

_With that, he braced his shell against the wall and kicked out, hitting the topmost crate in front of him and bringing the entire precariously balanced pile down on the unfortunate dinosaur-men's heads._

_Mikey gave a girly shriek as the unbalanced crates came tumbling down, a few knocking into his own pile, which he was currently standing on to keep out of reach of his now super-angry foes. He wobbled, comically flailing his arms about in a vain effort to keep his balance. The Triceratons, thinking now that they had an opening, chose that moment to start moving forward—and immediately regretted it. As soon as they were in range, the fear-filled look left Michelangelo's face and was replaced with his trademark ha-ha-you're-an-idiot-and-you-fell-for-it grin. He kicked the crate beneath him, backflipping off and landing on his feet beside Raph as the rest of the crates lining the wall came crashing down to bury the Triceratons beneath them. Mikey giggled loudly, dusting his hands off and declaring in a terrible imitation of Master Splinter, "In the words of the great master Whats-His-Face…I so totally rock."_

_Don shook his head as Raph smacked Mikey in the back of the head. "Make enough noise, shell-for-brains?" His red-clad brother demanded irritably. "I don't think they heard you back on Earth!"_

_"Hey, you knocked crates down, too," Mikey defended himself lightly. "If it's anyone's fault, it's _yours_."_

_Don shushed them. "Okay guys, what's done is done." He expected Leo to interject at this point, but was met with silence. Instead, his big brother was standing in front of something large and cloth-covered, which took up nearly all the space on the far wall. His own two foes lay in a neat pile behind him. Donatello shook his head. Trust Leonardo to not let a little thing like giant alien dinosaurs slow him down._

_Raph was apparently having similar thoughts. "Showoff," he growled as they all moved to join Leo in front of the big cloth-covered whatever-it-was._

_Leo glanced at him and gave a faint smile. "Wasn't me, Raph. How can I help it if they are fast enough to dodge _me_, but not each other?"_

_Raphael grunted noncommittally and folded his arms across his plastron. "Okay, so now what? Where's this big weapon thingie?"_

_Don frowned and checked his computer. The big weapon that should be glowing now wasn't. "That's strange…it was on just a minute ago."_

_"Maybe they turned it off when they left?" Mikey suggested._

_"Yeah," Raph returned dryly. "They had the presence of mind to push the 'off' button while their base went to hell."_

_"Hey, it could happen."_

_Raph opened his mouth again, but shut it with a snap as a strange sound suddenly echoed off the walls. Don glanced around nervously, trying to identify it. It sounded like…clapping? He blinked. It _was_ clapping. A second later, it was accompanied by a voice._

_"Well done. Well done, indeed."_

_They all moved at almost the same instant, drawing their weapons and dropping into defensive stances. Leo drew a single katana and stepped in front of his brothers. "Well, well," he said, leveling his blade at the shadows to their left. "Darius Dun."_

_"Darius Dun?" Mikey exclaimed as the preposterously obese man stepped out of the shadows and into the light. A half-hidden doorway on the far wall revealed his entrance point. If it was possible, Don thought, Darius had managed to gain even more weight. He was now more shapeless blob than man. Looming behind his massive frame was an even larger shape—his battle armor, Don realized. Once made to fit his thick body, it seemed Darius had modified the armor to be even larger and more deadly than before. And linked himself psychically to it, apparently; as he stepped forward, the armor mimicked his every move._

"_Yes, you cretinous fools," Darius began. His British accent was thicker than ever. "Did you really think I'd let you get away with destroying—"_

_"I knew I smelled something nasty in the air!" Mikey interrupted. "What'd ya do, bunk with our gross-smelling evil clones?"_

_"Silence!" Darius snapped. Don hid a smile. By the man's reaction, he suspected that might just be the truth. Trust Michelangelo and his gift for getting on people's nerves. Clearing his throat, Darius started forward again, clearly intending to continue his monologue that Mikey had cut short, when Leo intervened, his voice cool and clear._

_"You're schemes are over, Dun. Whatever you planned to do with all those weapons is finished. And once we're done here, it will _stay_ finished. You can't stop us now."_

_"Ah, Leonardo. So naively confident, as usual. Just like my errant nephew and his foolish parents." As he spoke, Darius suddenly reached into his coat and pulled something out. Donatello had time only to register it was a remote of some kind before Darius pressed down on it, and a hissing filled the room around them. He jumped as the walls to either side, seemingly nothing more than orange metal a minute before, folded up in on themselves like an accordian. Behind the walls were at least fifty Triceratons, all armed to the teeth, aiming just as many blasters their way. _

_Gasping, Don eyes flew down to his computer. "That's impossible! There's no heat signatures!" He looked up as Darius began chuckling. "You…you're responsible?!" _

_"And I always thought you were astute, Donatello. You didn't think I came to the penthouse solely to visit my bore of a nephew, did you? Actually, I have you to thank for much of my latest successes. You see, while you dragged Cody off gallivanting all over the city, I spent some quality time alone with Cody's computer systems. I'll admit, it took quite some time to break through the defenses you two constructed—but once I was in, I learned quite a few useful things. Including how _you_ work." He strolled forward, completely ignoring Leo's still outstretched katana, and started heading for the cloth-covered object in front of them. Don felt sick. There were a lot of things on Cody's computer that should never have fallen into Darius's hands. How could this have happened? How did he—and Cody—miss it? How could he have been that complacent, that…_stupid_?_

_"Well, that's all well and good, Dun, but that doesn't explain what's happenin' here and now," Raphael interjected, dividing his attention between glaring at the Triceratons and Darius._

_"Ah, but I haven't gotten to the best part," Darius replied. "I knew you'd come after this weapon. And I knew exactly how you would strike. So when Donatello hacked us, we hacked him. Everything you've been up to, I have been watching. I know where your ship is. I know what you seek, and I made sure you saw exactly what I wanted you to see, which in turn led you right into my trap."_

_Don couldn't believe what he was hearing. Darius had hacked his computer? And he hadn't noticed. _He hadn't noticed_. It wasn't possible. Brow furrowing, he ignored the rest of Darius's words, sliding his bo back onto his shell and focusing on the computer on his wrist. Sure enough, as he began going deeper into the files he had extracted from the base's computer system, he noticed a few anomalies. Little things, easy to overlook, but things that he should have seen nonetheless. No. No! He'd been overconfident. And now they were in trouble. And it was _all his fault_._

_Mikey's voice drew him back to the conversation. "Well, if you're so in control of things, how come Donny was able to blow up the weapon's factory? I can't see that figuring in to your 'master plan.'"_

_The scowl on Darius's face made Don feel a little bit better. Not much, but better. Apparently, the explosion at least had been unexpected._

_"Yeah, I'll bet your new buddies aren't too happy 'bout that," Raph added._

_"A minor setback," Dun returned haughtily. "And easily overcome."_

_"Is it just me," Mikey said. "Or does he sound just like Baxter Stockman?"_

_"Yeah," Raph added. "And he screws up just like Stockman, too."_

_Their taunts failed to get a rise out of Dun as he continued toward the end of the room, most likely because he probably didn't have a clue as to who Baxter Stockman was. There was a rash of clicking noises as the Triceratons surrounding them armed their weapons. Raphael growled and fingered his blades, though he didn't brandish them, and Leo glanced at Don. _Keep them talking,_ Don tried to convey with his eyes. _I need more time.

_"What's your true objective, Dun?" Leonardo took the hint, sheathing his blade and folding his arms across his plastron. "You didn't lure us here just to talk us to death. Way too simplistic for someone as bloated and egotistical as you are."_

_"Tsk. Tsk. You are in no position to be insulting. But you're right. I could let the Triceratons blast you all into a million little pieces…but I have a much better end planned for you. And as for my 'buddies'…" He turned and gestured behind him, and Don was unsurprised to see another hulking figure walk out of the shadows. It wasn't like his infrared was working right now anyway. The figure was a Triceraton and a familiar one at that._

_"Boss Zuko," Raphael said flatly. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time ya tangled with us?"_

_The newcomer smiled, showing rows of razor sharp teeth. His voice was high, almost whiny, contrasting oddly with his massive frame. "I told you that you had an enemy for life. And I always mean what I say." Zuko's forked tongue flickered as he licked his lips. "I'm gonna enjoy this."_

_"Enjoy what?" Mikey asked, spinning his 'chucks for emphasis. "Us kicking your scaly tail?"_

_"Keep joking, terrapin. It'll be the last thing you do."_

_"I don't think so, horn-head—" Mikey began, but this time Darius cut _him_ off. The man looked absurdly pleased with doing so. _Must feel like payback for all the times we interrupted him just to get on his nerves_, Don thought. If the situation hadn't been so grim, he might have laughed. Actually, Don realized, he _could_ laugh. With an effort, he squashed the hysterics and focused on what was important. Getting his computer back under _his_ control._

_"Enough talk. It's time for the main event." Dun motioned to Zuko, who gestured to two of the Triceratons surrounding them, and they hurried forward, positioning themselves on either side of the cloth-covered object. Each grabbed a handful of dirty orange cloth and tugged. The cloth fell away and Donatello's heart, which was already lingering somewhere around his knees, dropped rock bottom._

_Darius's most devastating weapon—was Cody's time machine._


	9. Chapter 5

Ahhh...vacation is a wonderful thing...but only if your internet works at your hotel. Which mine didn't. Grrrr. So sorry for the delay, I blame faulty machinery :D

Thanks to winged-monkey for her beta-ing and wonderful comments!

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine...just the story.

Chapter 5

_Cody's time machine. The one thing that Don hoped Darius had missed. Turtle luck, as Raph would say. Darius smirked triumphantly, clearly relishing the dumbstruck looks on all their faces. After a moment, Don found his voice._

_"It was you. You gave Sh'Okanabo the plans for the time machine!"_

_Darius's smirk grew wider. "Correct. In exchange for the use of his rather remarkable clones, actually. It was a pity that they couldn't put and end to you as I had originally intended."_

_"Are you crazy?" Don abandoned his work on the computer for a moment to look Darius in the eye. "You had to have known what happened when he tried to activate it! He nearly unraveled all space and time! And now you want to do the same thing!"_

_The obese psychopath gave a short bark of laughter. "Do not presume to include me in the same level as that idiot alien, Donatello. I am well aware of the randomness of the anomaly that brought you creatures to this time. As I am well aware of where Sh'Okanabo failed. He tried to do too much, too soon. But thanks to all of your research, as well as my own resources, I have worked out a system that will allow me to travel throughout time, limitlessly."_

_"So whatcha gonna do?" Mikey asked sarcastically. "Go back through time and fix all your stupid mistakes?"_

_"Actually, yes," Darius answered, looking slightly surprised. "I wouldn't have credited you with that much intelligence, Michelangelo."_

_"You can't," Don said earnestly. "If you do, you'll destroy this timeline and everyone in it!"_

_"Ah, but that's the point. You see, time runs in simultaneous streams. And through my studies, I have concluded that there must be more than one timeline, more than one outcome to the many myriad possibilities that come from the choices people make. This timeline does not suit my purpose. Therefore, I will destroy it and create a new timeline, specific to my own plans. And the plans of my associates, of course."_

_Oh no. Don sucked in a sharp breath. Darius Dun had discovered the _multiverse_? It should only be possible to travel to different timelines and dimensions through the use of the ancient spells, or even Lord Simultaneous's time scepter, but suddenly Don wasn't so sure. If Cody could pull them through time to this future, maybe the technology was enough to reach out to all the other possible worlds, too. If that was true, then Darius and the Triceratons had their ticket to world—universal—domination. They could go through each world, each little decision that affected the outcome of many lives, and pick and choose the destiny they wanted, destroying timelines in the process. It was too awful to contemplate._

"_You know, I was wondering what a deranged psychopath and a renegade Triceraton would have in common," Leo said suddenly, startling Donatello out of his thoughts. His big brother glanced at him, the command clear in his gaze. _Get back to work_. "And then it hit me. It's really simple, actually." Don quickly took the hint, keeping half his mind on the conversation._

"_What is?" Zuko snapped, a little too defensively._

_Leo rocked back on his heels, unfolding his arms and reaching up to loosen his swords in the sheaths strapped diagonally across his shell. If he felt the threat of the Triceraton weapons aimed at them, he didn't show it. He leveled his gaze at the big dinosaur-man and let dry humor enter his voice. "Simple. The Triceratons are _liars_."_

"_What are you blathering on about?" Dun growled, clearly irritated._

"_I'd wondered why a nation who had pledged to stop their warlike ways was in possession of so many of the weapons we came to destroy. I figured that the gangs had purchased the weapons before the PGA told the Triceraton Empire to put a lid on it. Then again, if that were the case, the weapons would have been confiscated and destroyed. Your people _lied_, Zuko. Fabricated this whole 'peace effort' in order to buy time. Time for Darius to perfect his little machine." _

_Zuko snorted. "Of course. I actually was surprised the PGA fell for it. You see, we Triceratons have always been destined to rule the universe." His tail lashed, and he grinned. Apparently, the dinosaur believed they would never live to tell the PGA, or Zuko would never have revealed his people's treachery so easily. Don sped up his work as the Triceraton continued. "There was only one problem, every time we made our move." He stalked a step closer to Leo, who raised an eye-ridge. "You."_

"_Us?" Mikey asked, surprised._

"_Whatcha mean by that?" Raph growled._

"_It never occurred to me, the first time we met. You see, at that time, I had no way of knowing what you green freaks were. Then Darius Dun and I crossed paths. He told us his plans for the time window and offered an alliance. The Triceraton Republic accepted. To be able to transcend time? It was a dream come true. Of course, when he happened to mention you and your meddling, I was reminded suddenly of a tale I'd heard while growing up. How the Triceraton Empire was wronged by four green terrapin earthlings."_

"_Wow," Michelangelo exclaimed. "We made Triceraton history books? Awesome!"_

_Zuko's glower seemed to intensify under Mikey's gleeful grin. "As I was saying…I never would have thought that you could be the same blasted reptiles that thwarted us in history, except for Dun's time machine. And now, I'll be decorated, having been the Triceraton who finally rid the universe of the accursed Turtles." He grinned, his teeth flashing._

"_You are a fool," Leonardo said succinctly._

_Zuko, in mid swagger, faltered. "What?"_

_Leo glanced back at Donatello, who nodded imperceptibly. _Almost done, big brother.

_Leonardo walked forward, putting himself directly in front of the arch of the time machine and met Zuko's malevolent gaze. He cocked his head to one side and spoke slowly, as if to a dense and reluctant child. "You're both fools. An anomaly brought my brothers and me to this time. An anomaly that, regardless of our best efforts—and I'm willing to bet, yours, as well—no one has been able to recreate, despite all the research, despite all the resources we all claim to have. And now you say that _you_ have found a way to travel through time?" He snorted. "Right."_

_Don grinned to himself, as his brother's disdain deepened the scowls on their foes' faces. He was doing an admirable job of keeping them busy. Normally, Leo wasn't this…vindictive. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Raph and Mikey moving to either side. Go time. A few more minutes and he would be ready._

_Darius apparently had had enough of being insulted. "Is that what you think, boy? Let me show you a nightmare beyond your wildest dreams. I told you that I had a perfect end planned for you. It's time to put it into effect." He lifted the remote still clutched in his meaty hand and aimed it at the time machine, bringing a thick finger down on the button. The machine flashed once, and the particle generators started humming as a purple light swirled outward and began to fill the archway. A few seconds later, an image began to form._

_Don smiled to himself. Finally! He was through. Typing a few more quick commands, he rid himself of Darius's trojan horse and rebooted the system. He was about to go back into the Triceraton mainframe when he heard his brothers' gasps. He looked up—and nearly fell over in surprise. _

_Framed by purple light was a scene he had played over and over in his mind since being brought to 2105. He could see in the time window the last five minutes they had spent at home, right before their time trip. Mikey stole the remote, Raph attacked him, and he could hear Leo's comment about ninja training clearly. The image shifted and Donatello could see Cody working feverishly at his computer, hear his triumphant cry as his time window began to glow. Don swallowed. So this was the end Darius had planned for them. Wait until Cody's time window started pulling them to the past and destroy it before they could arrive. They would be trapped between worlds, destined to be torn apart as time collapsed back in on itself. If they didn't do something soon, they'd all be royally drekked. Don drew in a breath, prepared to brave Triceraton fire to stop Darius, but, as usual, his big brother was one step ahead._

_Without preamble, Leo whipped out both his swords and threw them, toward the ceilings above the folded walls on either side. His weapons spun as they flew, spitting blue energy, before slamming into the ceilings above the walls. No, not the ceilings, Don realized. As the swords bounced off and began falling towards the orange tiles, he could see smashed wiring, and realized his brother had figured out where the controls that lifted the walls were located. The Triceratons, realizing his intent, raised their weapons too late as the walls came crashing down, cutting them off. Mikey and Raph moved at almost the same instant, retreating back to the doors and grabbing crates to block them off as Zuko started shouting into a communicator he produced from somewhere for reinforcements. _

"_Donny!" Leo snapped, darting forward towards Zuko and Dun, holding his tri-fingered hands out to either side. His swords responded instantly, shooting off the floor and into his waiting grasp. The weapons each of them bore were also a gift from Cody, and created literally from their own minds. Cody had developed a machine that translated thought into the physical realm, allowing the user to create almost anything from thought itself. This had an interesting side effect that none of them had foreseen. Thanks to their ninja training, Don and his brothers had always been in tune with their weapons, using them as an extension of themselves. The psychic connection created by the machine made their new weapons a literal part of them, responding to both movement and thought. _

_Don gave his brother a nod, running forward toward Darius's machine, as Leo rammed into Dun and Zuko, forcing them back. Almost hidden on the side, a small console caught his attention and he headed that way. He skidded to a halt in front of it, breathing a sigh of relief as he scanned the controls. Having been made from his and Cody's schematics, the controls were easy for him to navigate. He worked swiftly, cycling down the temporal energy the machine was generating, and the particle beams slowly began to flicker and die out. In seconds, the time window would be shut and they would be safe again._

_A cry and a grunt distracted him for a second, and he turned just in time to see Zuko catch Leonardo by the back of his shell and throw him across the room. Leo growled and jerked his body backward, flipping in midair over Don and the console and landing in a hard skid on his feet in front of the time machine. His big brother straightened, unhurt, and took a step forward, when he suddenly stopped and glanced up at the machine. "Don…is it supposed to do that?"_

"_Do what?" Donatello followed his brother's gaze and froze. Where a second before the time window had been shrinking down to nothingness, it had begun to grow again, only the image inside had changed. Instead of the dim lights of the lair, the window had gone pitch black._

_Donatello let out a small gasp, turning back to the console. Beyond him, he could hear Zuko's mutter of surprise and Dun's angry grunt._

"_What did you do to my machine?" Darius demanded._

_Don ignored him, focusing instead on the impossible scene in front of him. Where his normal codes and files had been, a string of unfamiliar symbols now flowed across the console's screen. They looked like nothing he'd ever seen before. The symbols coursed quickly across his vision, and as he watched, the energy in the machine began to build once more. Hurriedly, he tried typing a few commands, but the computer did not respond. What was happening?_

"_Don, what's happening?" Leo's shout echoed his thoughts. He glanced up. The strange blackness had grown to fill almost the entire arch of the machine. Leo stood directly in front of it, swords drawn, eyes searching for any movement in the endless black, while simultaneously watching Dun and Zuko. Both the Triceraton and the human stood motionless, also watching. Darius had a smirk plastered over his face. Apparently he was willing to wait and see what happened._

_Don turned back to the console. A rhythmic pounding pulsed in his temples, brought on by stress and confusion—and fear. He shook his head. No time for a headache. "I don't know what's happening! It's some kind of alien code, or something." _

"_Can you stop it?"_

_Don gave a frustrated sigh. "I'll try." He turned to his own computer, only to find the same code streaming across it, as well. "It's taking over my computer, too! Shell, I don't even know what this _is_, let alone how to stop it." _

"_Then we destroy it," Leo replied firmly. _That_ got Dun's attention._

"_You'll do nothing of the sort—" he started, but a shout from the double doors interrupted him. _

"_Leo, Donny, you'd better wrap this up quick!" Raph and Mikey were both pressed shell-first against the crates they had stacked up against the doors. Even as Raph spoke, a shudder wracked the doors and they burst open, sending turtles and crates sprawling. A troop of Triceratons poured through into the room, blasters up and ready._

"_Great," Don muttered to himself._

_Raph and Mikey both scrambled to their feet, backing up towards the others as the dinosaur-men fanned out, aiming their weapons._

_Darius smiled, a triumphant smirk. "It is over, cretins."_

"_Take them out!" Zuko shouted. "They are trying to destroy the machine!"_

_A loud hum filled the air as the tips of the blasters began to glow. Don took a deep breath, prepared to jump out of the way, knowing that he could never jump far enough. The Triceratons had the room covered wall to wall, and even as he watched, a grinding sound echoed out from the walls to either side. The orange metal wrenched up with a tortured squeal, revealing the troops from earlier._

"_Ooooohh," Mikey grumbled. "We are _so_ in trouble now."_

"_Great observation, Mike," Raph muttered in reply. His red-masked brother drew his sai and snapped the ends together, creating a double bladed sword of sorts. He began to spin it, red energy creating a kind of shield in front of him. Mikey spun his nunchucks in the same fashion, his ever-present cheerful grin marred a little when he licked his lips._

It's hopeless,_ Don thought. _We're going to die here. _He drew his Bo anyway, following his brothers' example and spinning it, hoping he could use its energy as a shield. Time seemed to slow down. He saw fingers move, saw triggers being squeezed. He shut his eyes, preparing himself to feel the pain, the searing heat of energy-based weaponry—and was utterly surprised when a heavy weight hurtled into him, knocking him to the ground just as something large and wet-sounding smashed the console to pieces._

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Feed the hungry author? :D


	10. Chapter 6

Back again, sorry for the delay, you know the drill :D

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The story is mine, nothing else...unfortunately. *Sigh*

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Chapter 6

_For a moment, all Don could focus on was taking one breath after another, his rough encounter with the hard tile floor robbing him of air. He lay gasping as a wet, slithering sound echoed behind him. A hand appeared at his elbow, and he accepted the help gratefully as Leonardo hauled him to his feet._

"_What happened?" he asked breathlessly, turning around to survey the damage to the console. The thing was literally in tiny pieces. A trail of black slime led from the broken mess back toward the time machine._

"_Ya almost became a turtle-pancake, that's what happened, Donny," Raph replied. He, as well as Mike, had stopped spinning his weapons—all the Triceratons were no longer focused on them, but on the pitch darkness of the device behind him._

"_Yeah," Mikey added. "This huge, like, monster tentacle thingie shot out and trashed the console. If Leo'd been a second slower…"_

_Don turned to regard his eldest brother, who was watching the darkness as well. "Thanks, Leo."_

_Leonardo nodded, a wry grin spreading across his features. "The whatever-it-was got a piece of you, anyway." He held up his hand, a bit of purple fabric dangling from his grasp. Don felt at his own bandanna tails, the ragged edge of one meeting his fingers. His mask was now missing a good two inches. Leo reached out to give it to him, when he paused, looking back at the deep emptiness of the time machine. He frowned, eyes narrowing, and Don tensed. _

"_What's wrong?"_

_Leo shook his head, his frown deepening. "Something's not right. I think we'd better get away from the—" A shriek interrupted him, a cry so loud and high-pitched that Don clapped both hands over his ears and fell to his knees. Thuds around him indicated his brothers doing the same, and for one long, agonizing moment, it was all he could do to block out the noise. The force of the wailing scream increased tenfold his earlier headache, but that was nothing compared to the other sensation he began to feel._

_Wriggling, crawling, sending goosebumps up and down his olive green flesh, Don could feel…something…worming its way into his mind. He responded instantly, years of meditation training with Master Splinter coming to his aid, and sank into a half-meditative state. A second later, the energies of his brothers joined him, but the Triceratons were not so lucky. Howls filled the room around them as…whatever it was…continued its psychic assault. He felt a touch on his arm, and looked up into his blue-masked brother's face._

_Leonardo's eyes were half lidded with the effort of blocking out their attacker. He nodded towards the doors, pushing himself to his feet and reaching down to help Michelangelo. Don understood—the best way to counter this attack fully was to distance themselves from the source. He followed suit, accepting Raph's helping hand, and the four of them started for the orange double-doors. Unfortunately, they didn't have a chance to get that far._

_With the sound of wet snapping leather, several long, dark objects shot out from the black hole in the time window. Don stopped abruptly as the things—tentacles, he realized—arched high over their heads, waving hypnotically in the air. They were completely black, wet-looking, dripping some kind of ebony slime onto the orange tiles. The ends were sharp, like the tips of claws, honed to a fine deadly point. He stood still, mesmerized, and almost lost control of his meditation. Only the sudden pain of his headache returning saved his mind from becoming psychic soup._

_Wrenching his thoughts back under control, he turned to continue back to the doorway, but he hadn't taken a single step before the attack on his mind abruptly ceased. Dead silence reigned for a heartbeat…and then the tentacles came crashing down with the speed of striking snakes. Buffered by the protection of their meditation, Don and his brothers reacted simultaneously, throwing themselves out of the way as a tentacle buried itself in the tiles where they'd been standing. The other creatures in the room, however, were not so lucky._

_Screams of pain changed to screams of terror in a heartbeat as the tentacles smashed into the ranks of Tricerations. Still off balance and confused by the attacks on their minds, several turned and tried to flee but in different directions, trampling each other, or running into the orange walls. Others raised their weapons and opened fire—but many of the shots landed amongst their fellows and the tentacles continued their deadly work. Don stared in growing horror at the chaos. _It uses a psychic attack to confuse its enemies, then strikes when they are no longer able to fight back,_ he thought numbly. If not for their training, he and his brothers would be in the same state._

"_This is crazy!" Mikey exclaimed as they dodged another tentacle and fire from the panicked Triceratons. "We gotta go!"_

"_Don," Leo said quickly, gripping his arm. "If we return to the Hovershell, do you think you can shut down the time window remotely?"_

"_I'll try," he replied honestly. "But I don't know how effective it will be with that alien code. But it's worth a shot."_

"_It'd better be," Raph interjected suddenly. "Because, if not, then we're gonna hafta deal with _that._"_

_Don turned to look, the horrified feeling in his gut growing stronger. Around the room, the Triceratons were scattered, many dead and all wounded. Several had staggered to their feet and were backing towards the doors on trembling legs. Don could no longer see Zuko or Darius by the machine, but he didn't have time to spare them much thought. The tentacles had ceased their savage attack and were all buried, upright and quivering, in the orange tiles. Even as he watched, the appendages tightened, rough sinewy muscle standing out against black slimy flesh, and more leather-like sounds echoed from inside the black hole of the time window._

"_Uh-oh," Mikey murmured. _

'Uh-oh', indeed_, Don thought to himself. With agonizing slowness, the tentacles continued to pull, and more sounds issued forth from the darkness. Donatello tightened his grip on his staff, the comforting feel of its energy warming his fingers. He drew in a deep breath—and _it_ emerged._

_Don classified the thing as an it_, _simply because he had no idea what else to think of it as. Grotesque and bulbous, resembling some kind of deformed spider, the…_thing_…dragged its enormous weight ponderously forward, barely fitting through the arch of the time window. He could see no eyes to speak of on the creature, but its front end seemed to be all jaw, a gaping, slime filled hole lined with razor sharp, silvery teeth. Its skin was ebony, the same slimy black of its appendages. Donatello felt disgust well up inside of him. He and his brothers had seen their fair share of monsters and strange creatures, but this one was the worst. _

"_Eww," Mikey commented. "That thing looks like Shredder's mother."_

_Had it been any other time, any other situation, Don would have stared at his youngest brother in disbelief. As it was, he didn't have time. As soon as the monster finished dragging its enormous bulk through the arch, the tentacles retracted, dropping large chunks of orange tile to the ground as they pulled free. Time seemed to slow as they hung, suspended in the air like striking snakes—then Don found himself roughly jerked to the side as they lashed out once more. He felt wind on his skin as one missed him by a hairsbreadth. Screams erupted around him, and Donatello could only watch in helpless horror as the appendages found their mark once again in the Triceraton ranks, spearing them and dragging them screaming toward the monsters gaping maw. Sickening crunches filled the air as the creature began devouring them, one by one. Don turned his head away, stifling the urge to vomit, trying to overcome his horror before it paralyzed him._

_Raph swore nearly in his ear, distracting him from the gruesome sight, and he realized that it was his red-clad brother who had a hold of his arm. Saved by two of his brothers in a matter of minutes. He was shooting a million today._

"_We…we gotta get outta here," Raph muttered. Even his stalwart brother seemed affected, though Don was willing to bet that despite his words, it wasn't the urge to leave that had his brother's hand trembling against his arm. If he knew Raph, his hotheaded sibling was itching to throw himself at the monster and stop the carnage. But to Don's surprise, he held off, looking up at Leonardo._

_The eldest was staring at the creature, jaw tight. He looked away and met Raph's gaze. "We've got to shut down the machine in case there are any more of those things. But," he bit his lip, "we can't let that thing keep killing…" For a moment, an internal debate flashed across his brother's eyes. Don swallowed hard. In order to stop the creature and shut down the time machine, they'd have to split up. But…to face that creature with only two of them…what if it used its psychic attack again? What if one of them wasn't fast enough, if someone was…eaten?_

_Leonardo spoke again, apparently decided. "Don and Mike, get back to the ship as fast as you can. Raph and I will distract that thing and help the Triceratons get out. Shut down the machine and then bring the ship here. We'll blow this place sky high, if we have to." _

_Mike instantly objected. "Shell no, Leo, we aren't going to let you guys face that thing alone—" He was cut off when, once again, a strange sound issued forth from the creature. It wasn't the agonizing screech of before, but a soft crooning. The monster was no longer crunching on Triceratons, though strips of bloody orange dangled from its gaping jaws, and black slime oozed down between its teeth._

"_What the hell is it doing now?" Raph growled and as he spoke, the creature started swaying, still crooning, its ugly body suddenly graceful. The massive maw gaped wider, the crooning got louder, and Don was beginning to wonder if the creature had gone crazy or something after its feeding frenzy, when suddenly the crooning stopped. The room went dead silent for a moment—then all hell broke loose._

_Out of the gaping maw, spilling into the room in a rush of oily grease, dozens of smaller versions of the bulbous creature formed in front of their astonished eyes, and before Don had the chance to do more than gasp, they rushed forward. Several stopped to gorge on Triceraton corpses, while the rest fanned out, heading for living flesh._

_Don stared, rooted to the spot, his mind momentarily stunned by this turn of events. _Did that thing just have….babies? _As a scientist, he figured he should have been fascinated—after all, this was a species he'd never seen before and he'd never seen any creature spawn full grown children quite like that before—but all he could feel was disgust. And a sudden deep fear. What was happening here?_

"_Don, snap out of it!" _

_Raph's sudden shout jerked him back to the matter at hand and he gasped as one of the creatures leaped straight for him. His hand went for his bo, but Raph was faster, drawing both sai and plunging them upwards towards the creature's belly as it sailed over them. Don expected to see them drive deep into his foe, but instead, the blades glanced off, as though the creature was made of rubber, and there was nothing stopping it from landing right on top of him._

_The breath whooshed from his lungs as he landed hard, and Don had to stifle momentary panic as the creature's weight began to crush him. Panic turned to pain as he felt sharp teeth tear into his arm. Frantically, he levered his good arm against the slimy flesh, struggling to shove it off of him, but he could find no purchase. He couldn't get it off! He struggled harder, white spots beginning to cloud his vision, when the weight suddenly lifted, and he felt a three fingered hand and heard Mikey's frightened voice._

"_Are you okay, Don? Say something!"_

_He hadn't regained his breath so it took a moment for him to answer. "I'm okay, Mike, it's okay." Mikey's eyes were wide, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Don looked around for his other brothers, and could see Raph just straightening up, wincing and rubbing his foot. Leo was beyond him, both blades drawn and glowing, facing the horde. Even as he watched, the nearest monster lashed out, and Leo slashed outwards with his swords. Instead of slicing through slimy flesh, the swords glanced off as Raphael's sai had, sliding down and only succeeding in batting the limbs away. He jumped away as a second monster struck, narrowly missing a nasty slice by another razor sharp tentacle, and landed beside them._

"_We can't fight these things like this. We've got to get back to the ship!"_

_"But how?" Don backpedaled and Mike jumped to the side as another creature darted towards them, only to be thrown back as Raph and Leo kicked it simultaneously in the head._

"_Never thought I'd say this, but right now, more Triceratons would come in handy," Mikey muttered. As if his words were summons, the orange doors burst open and a troop of the horned dinosaur men charged through the entrance, blasters blazing. Distracted, the horde backed off a bit, giving them a little bit of breathing room. Michelangelo grinned. "See guys? The power of positive thinking at work."_

_Raph smacked Mike in the back of the head for the comment, but Donatello barely heard them. The Triceratons were firing madly, but it seemed as if their efforts were in vain. Their blasts fell among the ranks of creatures, but as with his brother's bladed weapons, Don could see they did little damage, if at all. What were these creatures made of, solid steel? It seemed as though nothing could hurt them. _

_Leonardo was sharing his line of thought. "It's not working. What's it take to kill these things?" He glanced around the room, then back toward the Triceratons. "We're all going to die, if we don't get out of here."_

"_But we can't," Mikey said. "The Triceratons are blocking the door." It was true. Sensing the failure of their weapons to harm the enemy, the aliens were backing towards the doors, and as they did, the enemy horde began to surge forward, tearing into the front ranks. Screams began to fill the room again._

"_Then we need our own door," Leo said decisively. "Raph, give me a grenade. Then make us a door and get the hell out of here. Run back to the grate. We'll take that way back to the ship."_

"_Wait, what are you going to do?" Don protested as his red-clad brother handed over the weapon, which hung with several others on a strap that crossed diagonally over his plastron. He'd taken to wearing the grenades when they started their little mission, and they had come in handy in many battles. _

_Leo grinned, twirling the grenade in one hand. "I'm going to give our impromptu rescuers a bit of help. I'll be right behind you."_

"_But I don't think a grenade can hurt them…" Don's protest went unheard as Leo trotted forward, pushing down on the button that activated the grenade as he did so. To Don's left, Raph did the same, tossing his at the wall closest to them, just as Leonardo threw his—not at the monsters, but at the ceiling _above _them. With an earth shattering crack, both grenades went off, and Don clapped his hands over his ears, turning his shell towards the wall as debris went flying towards them._

_Don coughed as dust filled his lungs, blinking his eyes rapidly to clear them. When he could see again, he immediately glanced around, trying to locate his siblings in the gritty orange dust. He spotted Mike and Raph first, already heading out into the hallway through the hole created by the grenade, and then spotted Leo heading his way. Beyond his leader's shoulder, he could see the result of Leo's efforts—apparently bullet and energy proof did not mean squish proof, for many of the creatures lay twitching and oozing underneath a good chunk of the ceiling. A few Triceratons were as well, but Don figured if they were that close to their adversaries then they were most likely not going to survive anyway. The rest of the dinosaurs were beating a hasty retreat, and beyond the wreckage, he could hear a howling as the—mother?—monster raged at the deaths of its children._

"_Well, that means time to go if I've ever heard it," Leo coughed, coming up beside him. He did not look back at the wreckage, but gestured for Don to precede him, and together they started out into the hallway. Donatello was not surprised to see Mike and Raph waiting for them just outside the door. The Triceratons were also in the hall, but they did not bother them, some heading the other direction while others remained tensely by the orange doors. Leo gave a short bark of laughter. "What happened to getting the hell out of here?"_

_Mikey grinned. "Sorry, Leo, but you're crazy if you think we'd just leave somebody behind, even for a minute in this mess."_

_Raph grinned through his teeth and said playfully, "Even you, Fearless Leader."_

_Leonardo rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, it won't take those things long to make use of our new door, so let's go then, hmm?"_

"_Right-o," Mike saluted and started down the hall at a trot. Leo followed immediately after and Don fell in behind him, Raph bringing up the rear. As they hurried down the hall, he wondered again what was happening. The monsters had come through the time machine, but where were they from? _When_? And more importantly, what did they want? Just to feed on flesh? Something was not right and it was driving the brainy turtle nuts. Events were seemingly random, but he thought he could make out a pattern if he just tried hard enough…_

"_Aren't we going through the vent?" Mikey asked suddenly. He had come to a stop, having just realized he'd passed the entrance by a few feet. Leo, who had taken the lead sometime during Don's musings, glanced back._

"_Why bother? The Triceratons have bigger things to worry about now than us. It'll be faster if we just navigate the hallways."_

"_How, though?" Don asked. "That weird alien code messed up my computer. I'm not longer hacked into the system." The vent system had been a virtual maze. Even skilled ninja as they were, it had been impossible to keep track of all the turns in the dark._

_Leo thought for a minute. "What about my computer? I wasn't hacked into the Triceraton network, wouldn't mine work?"_

"_Yes, but the minute you touch that system, it'd get infected. Unless…" Don walked up to Leo's side and grabbed his gauntleted wrist. "Let's see. If the Hovershell is still unaffected…yes!" A tiny dot began to flash and a schematic popped up on the screen._

"_What did you do?" Leo asked._

"_Simple," Don smiled. "I just activated the tracker on the Hovershell. It's not using the Triceraton system but the plans I had already saved when we arrived. If we hurry, we should find the ship before the gauntlet has a chance to be infected."_

"_Let's go." Leo took off at a run, and the rest of them followed. The hallways twisted and turned, lefts and rights blending together as they ran past, followed by the eerie sounds of slithering and laser fire. It sounded as though the monsters had found their way out into the compound and were now wreaking havoc. Don shuddered. They had to hurry. If those things managed to get out onto Ceratopa…_

_Leo turned one last corner and came to a stop before another set of orange doors. He didn't hesitate, but shoved the doors open—and was forced to dive to the side as the hallway was suddenly engulfed in laser fire._


	11. Chapter 7

_Oh, I am so sorry for the terribly and inexcusably horrendous delay in posting this chapter. I hadn't written it yet and then life happens and then I kinda fell out of the fandom for a while, and just recently got back in with the advent of the new post FF series, Back to the Sewer. And I must tell you, I about fell out of my chair and yelled at the top of my lungs: "AHHHH!!! They have EYEBALLS!!!!"_

_Ahem. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who had that reaction :D_

_At any rate, please enjoy and please review! I always love to hear from you and I'll bet there are lots of errors in this thing today because I didn't beta and I didn't even spell check, all due to the fact that I started writing at one in the morning. One thing about me---inspiration comes when I should be sleeping!_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, keep wishing._

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_Chapter 7_

"_Dammit," Leo muttered with feeling. Laser blasts hurtled past, inches from Don's shell as he and Leo crouched against one side of the hallway in front of the doors. Mike and Raph had dived the other way, and were in similar positions on the other side of the hall. The laser blasts continued unabated, and it was all the four turtles could do to keep still enough not to be hit._

"_What do we do now?" Don asked, trying to make himself smaller as a blast came dangerously close to him._

"_Well, I guess talk is out," Leo replied dryly. "Apparently, they haven't realized that Darius's little plot has gone awry." He glanced around the hall, frowning. "Well, there isn't much to this hallway—ah!" He pointed toward the ceiling. There, another grate gaped invitingly behind steel bars on the ceiling. _

"_How do we get to it?" Don glanced at the danger filled hallway and back up at the grate again._

_Leo rose to his feet, careful to keep his shell pressed against the wall and considered the grate for another minute. Then he looked across the hall. "Raph! Throw a grenade at the doors! Bring them down! Hurry!"_

"_Are ya nuts?" Raph protested. "It'll bring the ceiling down and we'll never get in there!"_

_Leo made a vexed noise in the back of his throat. "Don't argue. Just _do _it!" He didn't wait for his brother to respond, drawing both swords and darting out into the hallway. Don gasped and Mike eeped from across the hallway, but Leo, as usual, knew what he was doing. The instant he stepped out from cover, Raph swore and tossed the grenade at the doors, and it exploded instantly, crashing both doors and a good chunk of the ceiling, blocking both their entry and the fire of the Triceratons. Leo didn't wait for the explosion to finish, but instead leaped into the air, bringing a katana across the metal bars over the grate and slicing them neatly in half. The second sword he drove into the slice, using his falling weight to wrench the two halves apart. He landed lightly on his feet, and his brother in red growled at him._

"_Mind sharing these plans of yours _before_ you do them?" The red-masked turtle demanded angrily. "If I hadn't seen you move and thrown that grenade, you'd be full'a holes right now, Fearless."_

"_And if I hadn't moved, you wouldn't have thrown it," Leo returned. "We didn't have time for you to second guess me, Raph."_

_Raph growled, and took an angry step forward. "Sometimes, you _need_ to be second guessed, Fearless Leader. That blast coulda brought down the whole ceiling in the hall right on top of us. Ya ever think of that?"_

_Leo opened his mouth to retort, and Don hurried forward, intending to stop the argument. "It's okay, Raph," he interjected hurriedly. "It was risky, I'll admit, but these walls are made of steel for the most part so it is highly unlikely that the whole ceiling would have caved…" He faltered as Raph's irritated gaze turned to him, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. _Think I'd learn my lesson by, now, to stay out of his and Leo's arguments, _he thought._

"_The science don't change the fact that he could have gotten us _killed_, Donny," Raph retorted. "Wouldn't kill him once in a while to let some of us do the thinking—"_

"_Enough." Raph snapped his beak shut at Leo's tone and glowered at him. Their older brother ignored him. "We don't have time for this," he muttered. He reached for his gauntlet and jerked it off in one move. "Don, take this and go first, up into the grate. Get to the ship and shut down that damn machine. The rest of us will follow."_

_Don considered protesting—he was tired of this business of leaving people behind, even if it was for a second. It seemed that every corner they had turned in this insane place had led to near disaster. But Leonardo's gaze brooked no argument, and Donatello was no Raphael. With a sigh, he pulled off his own ruined computer and replaced it with Leo's, bringing the schematic up on the screen. Then he grabbed his Bo staff and wedged it under one side of the grate cover, and levered the severed half off. It fell to the ground with a loud clang that made him wince. Then he stowed the staff and leapt upward, pulling himself into the grate and moving forward. Sounds behind him reassured him his brothers were following._

_This close to the hangar, it only took Don a couple of minutes to find his way to an opening that would allow them to drop down inside. He stopped at the edge of his chosen grate and took a look around. The Triceratons that had been firing at them in the hallway had left their posts around the ship and were clustered around the damaged doors, talking in low mutters. Others were lifting man-sized boulders and shifting them out of the way, looking for a way through the debris back into the hallway. The ship sat untouched in the center of the room. He eyed it critically. Save for a healthy smattering of orange dust, the Hovershell looked just fine. Best of all, however, was that it was, at that moment, _unguarded_. He looked up as his siblings joined him._

"_Don?" Leo asked in a near silent whisper._

_Donatello didn't bother answering, just hooked a tri-fingered hand under the lip of the grate and lifted it silently off, setting it up against the side of the shaft next to him. Then he dropped ninja-silent into the large room. No sound followed him, but he knew his brothers were right behind him. Their silence was probably unnecessary—the shifting of boulders would have masked any sound they might have made, but one never knew. Splinter had taught them that not all situations were what they seemed upon first glance, and he, for one, didn't want to take any chances. He crept forward, silent as the shadows that hid the corners of the hanger, and looked up at the ship from this new angle. _

_It was still unguarded, but the minute he opened the hatch, the Triceratons would be all over them. He considered just jumping in quickly anyway—he might be able to get the weapons up and online to fire back before the monsters could do much damage—but it seemed entirely too risky. There was no telling what shape this ship would be in after such a tactic, and no telling how long it might take to get the computer online, assuming, of course, it hadn't been infected. The Hovershell was their one ticket off the planet and Don had no desire to even risk being stranded on a base full of both Triceratons and the slimy whatever-they-were back the way they had come._

_He glanced back at Leo. His oldest sibling was assessing the situation, much as he was, with both Raph and Mike behind them. Mike was watching the Triceratons, while Raph was glaring at the back of Leo's head, his scowl more ferocious than ever. Don sighed again. They did not need this right now._

"_Raph." Leonardo said suddenly, startling him. Raph growled a wordless response. Leo ignored his growl and continued. "You and I will distract our orange friends over there. Don and Mike, get the ship ready and shut down the machine. Let's go." He rose to his feet and started forward, but a sound behind them made him stop short and whirl around, a blade already in his hand._

_It was lucky he had it out, for it was the only thing that saved him from a messy encounter as a tentacle, dripping in the foul black slime shot through the wall behind them and glanced of the shimmering blade, narrowly missing Leonardo's right eye. Don threw himself to the side as another appendage splattered the tile where he'd just been crouching. They four terrapins scrambled backward as the wall crumbled and the monster began tearing the wall down piece by piece._

_Raph swore again, drew both sai and began to rise, but he was forced to duck hastily back down as laser fire again erupted from the Triceratons. Don glanced back. The dinosaur-men were looking beyond them, firing and staring with wide, disbelieving eyes at the ugly creature clawing its way into the room. Beyond them, the open hatch of the Hovershell gaped invitingly. He just had to get to it—while dodging both tentacles and the continuous laser fire of their horned foes. It was almost enough to make him laugh again._

_He eyed the ship again. There really was no choice. The monster got closer with every minute and as much as he was loath to jump up in the middle of a war zone, he wasn't going to sit and watch as he and his brothers became some stupid monster's lunch, either. He rolled to his feet, ripping the Bo staff off of his back and spinning it defensively in front of him, before taking off full tilt for the green hull of their ship. Laser blasts bounced off of his spinning weapon, showering him with superheated sparks. A lucky blast penetrated his imperfect shield and he was forced to twist to the side to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, this also caused him to lose momentum and he skidded to a halt, still several feet from the ship._

_Ahead of him, the Triceratons were still firing and behind him, he heard Mike yell. _

"_Don, watch out!"_

_He dropped flat as a tentacle shot through the space where his head had been and hit the ground hard on his plastron, knocking the breath from his lungs. Pain splintered up his side and he grimaced, certain that if he hadn't broken a rib, he probably cracked one. Laboriously, he pushed on one arm and rolled onto his back, shaking his head to try to clear the cobwebs, instinctively pulling his staff defensively across his body. Above him, the dripping, slimy black arm hovered menacingly, and a second was rising up with it, then a third, preparing to smash him flat. Don tightened his grip on his staff, still gasping, trying to replenish the depleted air in his lungs. Though now, he was beginning to wonder if he should bother. As advanced as his Bo was, he had a feeling that even it would not be able to stop the monster from grinding him into the floor tiles. _

_He stared upward, aware he should move, should do _something_, but his body wouldn't respond. Around him, the sounds of his brothers and the Triceratons faded into dull murmurs and his vision was engulfed by the sight of the waving tentacles, waiting to end his life. Was this how it was supposed to be? He wondered vaguely. Splattered into the tiles of an alien base, light years—and normal years, all things considered—away from Earth? And who would stop the machine? Who would cut off the approach of these strange creatures, and keep the space time continuum intact?_

_I'm sorry, he thought. I couldn't do it, I wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, I wasn't—abruptly he became aware that the tentacles were still hovering above his head. It occurred to him then that they probably should have fallen by now. He found he was slightly irritated. If he had to die, why couldn't it be fast? Then a familiar voice broke into his thoughts and suddenly all the sounds in the room roared back into their proper volume._

_Don gaped as the tentacles above him vanished and Raph was suddenly next to him, gripping his gauntleted wrist and pulling him to his feet._

"_Geez, Brainiac," his red-clad brother commented. "I thought Leo was crazy. Looks like you're just as nuts as he is!"_

"_I…he…what?" Don muttered. The room suddenly was much too bright, much too loud. "What just happened?"_

_Mike landed next to them then, grinning at him. "You just about got yourself splattered, oh brainy brother of mine. You're _supposed_ to be the smart one!"_

_Don glared at him. "I know that! I meant, how come I'm not splattered? I couldn't move, I should have been done for." _

_Raph clapped him on the shoulder. "Ya fell for it's mind masher, Don. Looks like the big mama critter isn't the only one who can mess with people's thoughts. If ya hadn't been so distracted not gettin' blasted by Triceratons, ya might have noticed." _

_Donatello blinked. The room had seemed a little strange, but still, with cracked ribs he wouldn't have been able to move all that much…suddenly he realized he was breathing normally. He felt at his plastron, but no pain spiked up his side, his ribs felt completely fine. He looked at Raph. "Was it all an illusion then? Just some kind of mind trick?"_

_Mikey laughed. "Oh no, Don, you were almost splattered, that's for sure. It's just lucky that the Great Leonardo is full of tricks today."_

"_And Raph is full of grenades," Leo added, walking up to them, a Triceraton on his heels. "Remind me never to complain about how much crap you carry around with you, Raph. Alright, Don?" His voice was friendly, concerned, but there was an edge to it Donatello knew all too well._

"_Yes, I'm fine," Don said, and hastily added as Leo opened his mouth to speak again, "What happened? It was a war zone in here a minute ago." He looked around the room. Triceratons were scattered all over, some on their knees, breathing hard, others checking weapons, still others staring around themselves in disbelief. More victims of the 'mind masher', as Raphael had so eloquently put it. Don grimaced, somewhat chagrined that he was one of them, but he couldn't worry about it now. He let his eyes continue their circuit, avoiding Leo's gaze. The doors they had smashed were still impassible and where the creature had been tearing through the wall large chunks of steel and concrete blocked side of the hangar. Finally, he returned his gaze to his oldest brother._

_Leonardo's eye-ridge was raised and Don knew he was going to hear about what had happened later, but Leo was a pragmatist and he dealt instead with the matter and hand. "The Triceratons finally decided that the monster was a bigger threat than we are and with their fire and a few of Raph's grenades, we were able to bring it down. We squashed one bug, but I'm certain there are more and that they are coming this way."_

"_What makes you so certain of that?" Don jumped at the unfamiliar gutteral tone, and realized the Triceraton had spoken. "These creatures are base life forms. They do not possess such intelligence." Don resisted the urge to snort. Triceratons believed that all life forms were base, with the obvious exception of their own._

_Leo glanced up at him. "Base life forms that know how to travel through time," he said wryly. "And even if they just happened to be near where the time window opened, it doesn't explain the behavior of the latest one. Didn't you find it strange that we were all over the creature with our weapons but when Don went for the ship, it turned all its attention on him? No, I think they are on to our plan, and they know we can shut them down."_

"_And they have some kind of code that his keeping the window open," Don added. "That's why I couldn't shut it down before." He broke off as the room shuddered around them._

"_Here they come," Raph grumbled._

_Leo turned once again to the big dinosaur-man. "If you can give us a few minutes, we'll do what we can to save this base of yours. But you are going to need Alliance's help if you expect to get rid of these things. And that means you are going to have to answer for what has happened here."_

_The Triceraton regarded him silently for a moment, then drew himself up to his full, impressive height. When he spoke, his voice was hard, but surprisingly respectful. "I will not apologize for our actions this day. Nor will I bow to the laws of your so called Alliance. But I will not let an unworthy creature destroy the planet I call home or stand in the way of Triceraton dominion. We will buy you your time."_

_Leonardo nodded once and turned for the ship. Don was right on his heels, pulling ahead as they reached it and jumping nimbly inside. He immediately activated the computer monitor in the navigator's seat and felt his stomach plummet to his toes. All across the screen, the alien code glared mockingly out at him. They were too late. The code had spread far faster and far easier than he had thought. _It must affect all machinery it comes in contact with,_ he thought numbly. His own gauntlet, as he was interfaced with both the Hovershell and the time window at the same time, must have spread the infection._

"_I take it that's a bad thing?" Mikey asked timidly, as they all stared at it. Outside the ship, the Triceratons were forming ranks, half facing the collapsed doors, the other the shattered wall as shudders continued to rock the hangar from both directions._

"_What now, Don?" Leonardo asked softly. "Are we trapped here?"_

_Donatello shook himself. "Not if I can help it." He ignored the code, activating all of the Hovershell's other systems, and was relieved to hear the engines roar to life. The lights also came on, as well as the ship's onboard flight controls. He checked weapons—they were online too. "Looks like we're in business, guys. I was only interfaced with a small portion of the Hovershell's systems when the alien code infected my gauntlet. It seems to spread as it comes in contact with a new device—" He cut off as the lights flickered and went out. "See? But it must take a while for it to infect different devices. We can fly out of here if we hurry…" He paused, looking at Leonardo. "But I can't shut down the time window. Not from here. Maybe if I got back to the PGA base…"_

"_We might not be able to do that," Leo said grimly. "Look." _

_Out the ships windows, they all watched as slimy appendages broke through the debris on both sides and the Triceratons started firing. As more of the blockage crumbled, Don could see a seething black mass of slimy bodies, stretching as far as he could see. _

"_All those Triceratons," Mikey whispered in a small voice. "They're all going to die…aren't they." It was not a question._

_Raph put a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he guided him to a seat. "It'll be okay, Mike." Michelangelo did not answer._

_Leo dropped heavily in front of the steering controls. "I'm getting us into the air. Maybe I can give them an out, too, while I'm at it." He flipped a switch and the Hovershell lifted into the air, then another, and they could all hear a hum as the front cannons came to life. Leo then swung them to face the back wall. "Here we go." The cannons blazed to life and the wall exploded outward in a shower of orange dust and chunks of masonry. Don saw the eerie red night sky of Ceratopa only for a moment before looking down, intending to monitor the ships flight controls for any sign of the alien virus. He did not get the chance however and nearly lost his seat as Leo suddenly wrenched at the controls and the ship shot towards the ceiling, a black slimy tentacle missing it by inches._

_Raph swore loudly. "There's more of 'em out there too!" A seething black mass appeared out of the cloud of orange dust and the ship tumbled as more tentacles reached for them. Don pulled himself back up into his seat and hastily activated the seat belt, grateful that that particular system was still intact as well. It was just in time as Leo rolled the Hovershell completely over to avoid more limbs, and then punched it, firing the cannons out into the nightmarish landscape and blowing a path out into the bloody sky. They shot upward out of range and Don took that opportunity to check the ship. _

_The alien code was spreading fast. They had precious little time left. Maybe not even enough to make it halfway to the PGA base. He could activate the ground vehicle, and that might get them the rest of the way, but they had no choice either way. They had to try. He turned to let his brothers know, but none were looking at him. All three of them were staring out the side windows, their faces full of horror. Swallowing hard, Don looked out._

_The base was overrun. Flashes of light flared here and there—Triceraton laser fire. But they were few and even as he watched, the flashes became fewer still. The red laser wall no longer protected the grounds and he could see some orange shapes fleeing, pursued by long black shapes, leaving the base and starting out onto the planet's surface. They moved with impossible speed. _

"_What are they?" Don wondered aloud, his voice no more than a whisper._

"_I don't know," Leo answered him in a flat voice. "But we will not make it to the Alliance base in time unless we stop them from multiplying more. Donatello, there must be a way to shut down the machine."_

"_Well," Don said thoughtfully. "We could blow it up…but it might deplete our resources enough that we won't make it anywhere close to the PGA. And if the ship fails while we are over…that…" He didn't finish._

_Leonardo nodded once. He looked to their other brothers. "Raph? Mike?"_

"_I don't run from fights, Leo," Raph said. "Bring it on."_

"_I'm okay with it too, Leo." Michelangelo's voice shook, but only barely. "Let's go."_

"_Alright." Leo banked the ship and they soared out over the chaos, heading straight for where the brightest light shone. The eldest fired as they neared it, blowing huge chunks in the ceiling, and as the debris fell away, Don could see the bloated, horrible figure of the mother creature, the time window swirling darkly behind her. Her terrible jaws were gaped wide again, and more of the smaller monsters were flooding out of it. Even worse, more long tentacles were coming out of the time window, quivering, preparing to drag another grotesque, monstrous body through._

"_I'll say it again," Mike quipped, though it was spoiled slightly by the catch in his voice. "Shredder's mother."_

_Leonardo gave him an appreciative chuckle. "Well, let's take care of her, like we did him, once upon a time." His finger moved, and again the cannons roared to life, a shaft of brilliant white arcing down towards the machine. Don leaned forward, watching their progress—and grabbed onto his seat as the ship suddenly wrenched to one side, the cannon fire missing the time window and slamming into the side wall instead._

_Beside him, Leo snarled and hauled hard on the controls, righting them and shooting skyward again before they could spin into the ground._

"_What the hell was that?" Raph demanded._

"_Tentacle," Leo replied shortly._

"_From what?"_

"_What do you think?"_

"_Well, excuse me, Fearless Leader, if I didn't think that even that thing could reach this high."_

"_Well, neither did I. And we just paid dearly for it." Leo's suddenly hollow voice silenced Raph's sarcasm._

"_What is it?" Mike asked, looking at them in confusion._

"_I know," Don said, staring at the computer screen in front of him. "That monster just infected our weapons system. Just by touching them! How is that even possible? Are they some kind of cybernetic organic blend or something? If it hits the engines, we are in trouble."_

"_So we have no weapons? Great." Raphael glowered down at the creature below them. "Talk about turtle luck."_

"_Guys," Mike interrupted. "What's it doing now?" Don followed his gaze. The monster had planted two of its tentacles back in the ground and the great maw was turned upward, towards them. The massive belly compressed and as before, smaller versions shot from its mouth—straight up into the air at them._

"_Hold on!" Leo shouted and then pulled up hard on the controls. The Hovershell shot straight up into the air so fast that Don felt light-headed as the cabin struggled to compensate for the sudden change in air pressure. Warning signals blared as they continued to rise, and Donatello was certain they would stall—but Leo suddenly evened out then banked, arcing out over the base again._

_It was several seconds before the labored, frightened breathing in the cabin slowed. Don put a hand on his chest, willing the shudders wracking his body to stop. Mike and Raph were both leaning over their knees, drawing breath in short, choppy motions, and Leo was staring at the dash, his fingers still wrapped, knuckles white, around the steering controls. _

_Another moment passed, then Leonardo spoke. "Still have those grenades, Raph?"_

_Raphael started and blinked at him. "Of course I do. An' you better not be thinkin' what I think yer thinkin', Fearless."_

_Leo ignored him, unbuckling his seatbelt and rising to his feet. He turned to Donatello. "Take the controls. Fly me in as close as you can and I'll do the rest. Then take the ship and get as far as you can towards the PGA base. They must be warned. If this fails, then they will need to be prepared."_

"_What?" Don spluttered, his brain trying to process what Leo was telling him. "Leo, that's suicide! We couldn't even get the ship in close enough, what makes you think you can take on that thing by yourself?"_

"_We can't leave the window open, Don, or more people than the Triceratons on this base are going to die."_

_Raph was on his feet as well, shouting before Donatello could respond. "You ain't going all martyr while I'm around, Fearless Leader! If anyone's gotta be a hero, it's gonna be me." He straightened to his full height and took a step forward—only to collapse to his knees with a grunt as Leonardo's elbow rammed into the soft flesh between shell and plastron. With an efficient jerk, the blue-masked ninja removed the strap containing the grenades from his brother, as Raph wrapped his arms around himself and glared up at him. _

"_Don't be an idiot, Raphael. I'm not doing this to be a hero, and I'm certainly not intending to get myself killed. These creatures have proved themselves vulnerable to explosives. If I can get to the time window with these, I may just be able to destroy it before more of those things can come through."_

"_That's a big _if_ˆ," Raph growled. "And it still doesn't explain how you expect to come out alive. Like Donny said, we couldn't even get the ship close enough."_

_Leo shrugged. "I'm a lot smaller than the ship, Raph. And I don't intend to stay longer than absolutely necessary. As for getting out alive, well, Darius came through a secret passageway. I am willing to bet that it leads either out of the base, or to one of the hangars. That snake of a man has always left himself a way out, in every encounter we've had with him. At any rate, don't you remember what Donatello said when we first arrived here? Invasion ships. The Triceraton base is full of them. And, these creatures, if they are as intelligent as I think they are, are going to need a way off Ceratopa sometime. I doubt there are enough people here to sustain them for long."_

"_Which means the ships are still intact," Don said, catching on. "And that strange code they use I'm pretty sure is for disabling machines, not running them, which means the onboard computers of the ships should still work."_

"_Exactly. Get as far toward our allies as you can and I'll catch up. One way or another, we can get back to warn them."_

"_But Leo, why just you? If you are just going to take a Triceraton ship, why don't we all go?" Mike said. "That way, we won't have to leave anybody behind."_

_Leo smiled and shook his head. "Believe me, Mikey, if there were any other way, I'd take it. But there are three reasons why I'm going alone. One, I don't want to leave the Hovershell anywhere near these creatures. It's tech is too valuable. Two, if I fail to destroy the time window, someone must warn the PGA. And three…" he hesitated._

"_Three'd better be better than your first two, Fearless." Raph growled. He'd regained his feet and was watching Leonardo with a dour glare._

_Leo sighed. "I…you just have to go. You can't stay here. Please, guys. I…I need to know you are all okay."_

_Don's thoughts immediately jumped to when they had first arrived. Leo had been on edge the entire time, he remembered. He hadn't slept, he'd seemed jumpy…_

"_You had a premonition, didn't you," he said. Both Master Splinter and Leonardo were prone to such things. As a scientist, Don didn't really put too much credence into such things, but he'd seen both of them do some really unexplainable things—at least scientifically—on a mental level to discount them completely._

_Leo didn't hesitate this time. "Yes. I did. And it was horrible. Truly horrible." He looked around at all of them. "It didn't involve me, it didn't involve Master Splinter or Cody, just you three. Here, on this planet, it begins. I don't have details…but it scares the hell out of me. Please just go. I promise, if I can't finish the job I'll get out of there and meet you and we'll leave together. Whatever. But just _go_. It's the only way I know to protect you."_

"_For the record," Raph growled before anyone else could say anything. "I don't need protectin'." Leo sighed, and Raph suddenly grinned. "But I'll let ya do it, just this once. But you better keep your promise, Leonardo. I'm gonna hold ya to it."_

_Leo gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you, Raph."_

"_Me too, Leo," Mike interjected. "I mean, I'm gonna hold you…uh…I mean to it…umm, hehe, yeah?"_

_Raph gave Mikey and affectionate smack to the head and Don slid into the pilot's seat. "Oh, here," he said, pulling the gauntlet off his wrist and handing it back to his eldest brother. You are going to need this."_

"_Thanks." Leo slipped it on, and placed the grenade strap solidly over his plastron. He then reached down into one of the ship's many compartments and pulled out a jet pack, sliding that too over his shoulders. "Let's go."_

_Don obliged, banking around and swinging wide over the Triceraton base. In the short time they had been talking, more of the creatures had swarmed forward, and he could not see any more answering fire from the Triceratons. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It could very well mean they were all dead. He circled all the way around, then turned inward, taking a back route towards the time machine's location. There were less creatures in that direction._

_His bandana tails whipped up and around his face as Leo opened the hatch. "Don't stop, don't slow down." The blue-masked turtle said. "They will see you before they see me and that should be enough." He smiled at Don. "See you on the flip side." And then he was gone, leaping out of the hatch as they shot over the time window. _

_Don heard a shriek as they passed and he was forced to put on more speed as tentacles whipped up around them. He made a good show of it, trying to keep the monster's attention on them to buy Leo a few more precious seconds, but then they were gone, out into the open rocky ground of Ceratopa. He glanced at the screen…the alien code was still spreading, but thankfully, it didn't seem to be affecting their flight systems much still._

"_Guess it's a good thing that Cody installed so much junk into the Hovershell," he said, needing to break the tense silence that engulfed them._

_Raph growled noncommittally, staring out the side window to the rear. Mike looked at him. "Why's that?"_

"_It means that it'll take that virus longer to find our core engine system. We'll have a good amount of flight time to make it back—" _

_A white roaring filled his ears. He felt the ship jerk and twist as the controls wrenched from his grasp, and for a moment, it was all he could do to grab a hold of them again as the Hovershell bucked and squealed and tumbled, rattling them like rag dolls. He was vaguely aware of his brother's cries and gritted his teeth, finally managing to grab the steering, and pulling hard, trying to right them. It was too late, however—he had enough time to pull the ship level with the ground before they slammed into it, knocking his head back into the head rest and jarring him from head to toe._

_A few minutes passed before consciousness returned to him. He blinked, trying to clear his head, the earlier ache he'd had returning with a vengeance. "Raph," he tried to call, but his voice caught and sent him into a coughing fit._

"_Here, Donny," Raph's voice was shaking, but his hands were steady as he grabbed Donatello's seat belt and pulled it off. He then slammed a fist through the front window and it gave with a shattering crack._

"_Raph," Don said, alarmed, as red warm blood spattered his face. There was glass in Raphael's fingers. Don clung to that thought, his brain stubbornly determined to ignore what had just happened. Bloody fingers he could do something about. What had knocked them from the sky—_

_A shape leapt past them, out the window and around the side of the ship. Raph made a grab for it, but missed and cursed as he grab Don's wrist instead and helped him to his feet. Then they both jumped out into a nightmare._

_Ceratopa's desert surface had always been unforgiving and formidable, but now, it was even worse. Red sand still surrounded them, but just beyond, it had been scoured away, revealing bare and blasted rock, bleached as white as bone. Beyond them, was the Triceraton's mountain base. Or had been. _

_Don shook his head in denial. Beside him, Raph trembled with emotion—or perhaps rage. And in front of him, Mikey stood rigid, his mouth open in a silent cry of horror._

_Where the mountain had stood, a deep chasm gaped, and empty hole miles long and miles deep. The base was gone. And that meant…_

"_Leo," Raph breathed, his voice a choked whisper. "He's gone."_

_

* * *

_

And here we go :D


	12. Chapter 8

Oh boy…I hope you all don't hate me!! I had to go and be a grown up thanks to our slacking economy and it's taken me this long to remember why I like this fandom so much! My heartfelt apologies! And a big thank you for the nice review that spurred me to finish this chapter (I mean you, Dipsey! Thanks for the nice review!).

Here is chapter 8—I apologize for its relative shortness, but I want to devote some time to then next chapter :D

Again, sorry for the wait!!

Disclaimer: If I owned these guys, I wouldn't need lottery tickets.

_Chapter 8_

Don closed his eyes as the last bit of memory washed over him. That had to have been one of the most horrible days of his entire life. He didn't really remember it all, after the explosion. The scientist in him would say that was his brain's way of dealing with the stress of it. What he did remember consisted mostly of mind-numbing horror and looking—clambering around on scraped hands and knees, searching through bone white dirt because there was no rubble, nothing at all left, for some sign, _any sign_, that Leonardo was still there, had not been reduced to mere _atoms—_to no avail.

He was gone, and there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do about it.

He remembered Raphael's shout, an angry roar directed skyward. "YOU PROMISED!"

There wasn't much to it after that. The Hovershell was completely disabled, but Don still had Raph and Mike's computers, which had miraculously survived not only the crash but managed to remain untouched by the alien virus. He was able to signal to the PGA base, which had seen the explosion and already had ships en route.

How could they _not_, when the explosion had so altered the face of the relatively small planet?

The rest was a blur of faces, of meetings, trying to explain with numbed minds and shattered spirits what the hell had happened. Bishop had been the best and the worst—he was in total sympathy with what had happened, but that didn't stop him from doing his job and grilling them for even the smallest details.

Then there was the flight home. Nothing but silence, staring into space, stubbornly refusing to think about anything at all because thinking of nothing was far better than the alternative. After all, they had all had to relive it a million times already over the course of Bishop's interrogation. But even with everything in his brain, Don still couldn't figure it out. It didn't make sense. The plan was solid, it should have worked. Even with all the monsters and chaos, Leo was a ninja and exceptionally skilled at being invisible. If anyone could have succeeded, it would have been him. And still, somehow, it hadn't been enough.

But even with all of that, the part he had dreaded the most was when they finally made it back to the penthouse. Splinter, Cody, and Starlee—and Serling, of course—were waiting for them in the hangar when they arrived, in a ship borrowed from Bishop's fleet.

He remembered searching their faces as he brought the ship to a gentle landing. Cody and Starlee both looked confused, probably wondering why they were flying an Alliance ship and not the Hovershell. Serling's robotic face registered, as usual, no emotion. But Splinter watched the ship with a grave expression and Donatello did not doubt that his father was aware that something terrible had occurred.

The ship touched down. All three brothers had looked at one another, mentally preparing themselves. Then, he had opened the hatch and they leaped out, coming to rest on their knees before their master. Their father.

No words were spoken. Splinter let out a single, controlled breath. Then he opened his arms wide and said, softly, "My sons."

Donatello preferred not to remember much of that exchange, either, just the warm fur under his fingers, the hot liquid streaking his cheeks, and his father's comforting croon. Cody's voice was in the background, demanding in horror to know where Leonardo was, as if he expected him to leap out of the borrowed ship and tell him it was some kind of cruel joke.

Splinter, Don was not sure how, remained calm through it all and managed to get all of them into the house and scattered across various pieces of furniture while they collected themselves. He remembered sitting on the soft couch cushions, not really feeling them, listening to a monotonous report on the weather from the television. The sound abruptly ceased and Splinter stood in front of them. His face was stoic, but his eyes betrayed him as he said in a soft voice, "Leonardo is beyond my reach. I cannot find him…cannot feel his mind. But I can feel yours. My sons…what has happened?"

Don stood up and shook himself. That particular memory he had no interest at all in reliving ever again, even during this trip down memory lane on the tenth anniversary of the worst day of his life. He shook his head, frustrated. It had been ten years—they needed to stop this, needed to get over it. It wasn't healthy, this denial. It was destroying all of them. It had been so long since Don had even picked up his Bo, let alone fought anything larger than a cold. Raph was the only one who kept fighting, but his style was gone, haphazard at best, dangerous to both himself and anyone near him at worst. Mikey had delved even further into the imaginary worlds of his video games. If the Shredder were to appear out of thin air right that second and attack them, Don had no doubt they'd probably all die.

It was truly pathetic. But somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to care. The four of them were like one person. With one missing, it all fell apart.

Sighing, Don got up and walked out of his room and down the hall towards the lab once again. It wasn't like he could sleep anymore, anyway. The doors whooshed gently open as he approached, and he saw a shock of red hair look up at his approach.

"Hey," Cody said softly. He met Don's gaze for a moment then dropped it again to something he held in his lap. Donatello leaned forward, looking to see what he held. Cradled gently in his palms, April O'Neal's journal rustled softly as Cody shifted his grip, holding it up so Don could see it better.

"April's journal," Don commented lamely.

"Yeah," Cody agreed. "I couldn't help myself. I had to look, one more time."

"We really shouldn't do this to ourselves, you know," Don reached out and traced a thick green finger down the book's surface. "It's not healthy."

"So Serling says every chance he gets," Cody gave him a wan smile. "But we never stop, do we?" He dropped the journal, and it landed with a dull thud, it's pages flipping open and lying flat on a page that they all had looked at a million times. "It shouldn't have been this way, Don. It should have been impossible. He was there. You were all there! I knew the future and it changed! I read that passage so many times when you got here…it was a way to assuage the guilt for dragging you out of where you belong." He snarled wordlessly then and kicked the journal, sending it spinning across the floor to disappear underneath the desk housing the computer controls. He dropped his head in his hands. "How could it change?"

Donatello watched him gravely, but he had no answer. When they had finished telling Splinter how his oldest had perished, Cody had suddenly jumped up and ran from the room, returning with the journal. He waved it at them, reciting the passage he knew by heart, the passage that said that they all made it home again, how all became right again. But as he showed the journal to them to prove it, the words on the page did not match his hopeful recitation. Instead, the journal entry was missing. The date spoke only of normal things, an ordinary day. And at the very end of the journal, the last entry, there was one final paragraph.

"_It has been so long," _April had written. "_But I am beginning to wonder if I will ever see my friends again. My life is nearing its end and soon I'll go join Casey wherever he is now. Are they waiting for me too? Leo, Raph, Mike, Don, Splinter…if you are there, I can't wait to see you again. I've missed you, old friends. I wish you could have met our son. I think you would have got on well…but at least I know that our stories will survive. That is my last gift to the future."_

The rest of the journal was empty pages. April had died not long after she had written that last paragraph.

Cody sighed, staring after the disappeared manuscript. "Sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"It's okay. I think we're allowed, today." Don moved over to the desk and reached down, picking up the journal and dusting it off, before setting it carefully on the console. He sat down at the computer and stared at it for a minute, wondering what to do next. Cody rolled his chair up beside him and stared at it, too.

"Now what?"

Now what, indeed. Don's fingers automatically moved for the keyboard, but before he'd moved even an inch, the screen flared to life and the large, forbidding visage of Bishop loomed in front of him. Having not expected it, both turtle and boy fell over backward, knocking the chairs over and sending the journal skidding to the floor again. It fell open, once more to the page containing the last fateful paragraph.

Don didn't have time to think about the journal, however. He was too busy swearing and rubbing the pain out of the back of his head where he'd bumped it on the not too soft concrete floor of the lab.

"Well," Bishop remarked dryly. "That was graceful."

"Ow…" Cody sat up next to him, also rubbing his skull and looked up at the screen. "With all due respect, Sir, we weren't exactly expecting you to appear so suddenly."

Don was not so polite. "Ever heard of paging? You could have given us a little warning before you popped up full size on the screen. I think you broke my skull."

"My apologies," Bishop replied, and Don was surprised to realize he meant it. Of course, he knew what today was, too, after all. "I hate to disturb you, today of all days," he continued—yep, he did remember all right—"but a situation has developed that I could use your…extraordinary talents. I'm sending a ship right now, if you would be so kind as to come to me, I will explain in full."

Donatello looked up at him, considered telling him no. After all, they had given enough for the universe already, hadn't they? But he couldn't do it. And besides—it was better than wallowing in his irrational grief again for one more day. A little action might benefit them all. "Very well," he said, rising to his feet. "But I'll warn you…our talents are not what they once were. But we will hear you out."

"Much appreciated." Bishop's face flickered for a moment, then disappeared, leaving the screen seeming darker than before, as dark as the corrupted time portal. Don shook off the image and helped Cody to his feet.

"C'mon. Might as well get this over with."

* * *

Two hours later found them all sitting around the ridiculously large conference table at the PGA headquarters. Two hours because it took Don that much extra time to round up his brothers and convince Raphael that it wasn't a "load of bullshit, why the hell should we help him out?" Eventually he had swayed his volatile brother by reminding him that there might be some action involved. Bishop was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Thank you for coming," the taciturn President of the Pan Galactic Alliance began. "A few days ago, we received a curious recording. It came in on one of our most unused channels, from a far part of the universe that we have not yet explored. As you all know, the universe is a vast place, full of more life and diversity than we can ever hope to imagine. It is not as of yet possible to explore every inch of the galaxy, so it should not have come as a surprise that we might stumble yet again across new life in the universe. However, this language is not one that I have heard before. We have spent the last several days attempting to translate it. Unfortunately, we have been only able to translate a few words. I will now play the message."

Bishop pushed a button on the computer on his wrist and the sound of a static filled recording washed over them. The words were unintelligible, spoken in a language none of them recognized, but every so often, one word would come clear in English over the top of it, spoken most likely by the people who had translated it.

"Help…warning. Must…be prepared…too late…hurry. No time…"

The words faded into the incomprehensible murmuring again and then suddenly the voice stopped. Silence reigned within the static. Then a shriek echoed, so loudly that all of them with the exception of Bishop clapped their hands over their ears. Then the air filled with screams and roars and the sound of tearing flesh before it was replaced by deafening silence as the recording came to an abrupt end. Bishop was watching Don and his brothers intently, and Don knew he could see it in their faces. He knew the reason why the President had called them there. They knew that sound…how could they forget?

A thud sounded behind him and Don turned to see Mikey on his knees, tears streaming down his face. "No…" his brother moaned. "I can't…not that sound…not again!" Don shot Bishop a reproachful look and dropped to his knees beside his youngest brother, the rest of his little family gathering around them.

"S'okay, Mike," Don said softly. "It's okay."

"What the hell's wrong with ya?" Raph demanded angrily. His eyes flashed and his fists clenched. The only thing that kept him from leaping for Bishop was Splinter's hand, resting gently on his forearm.

"You have summoned us here for a reason, is that not so, Bishop? I hardly believe that you have brought us here to torment us." The rat's eyes narrowed. "However, I have not the time nor patience for the word games you favor. What is your purpose for showing us this?"

"To the point as always, Master Splinter," Bishop replied evenly. "And I did not intend harm. I let you hear this because I believe that you deserve some answers. Some closure. And if these creatures are as intelligent as you say they are, they may possess those answers. Maybe then, you will know for sure what happened to Leonardo. I wished to offer you this chance."

Splinter stared at him hard for a moment, then dropped his gaze. "It is true that we would like nothing better than some answers to ten years ago, but I fear we are not equipped for such a challenge. The years have taken their toll, as I'm sure you can see. Thank you for your consideration, but I do not believe we can help you."

Raphael's mouth opened, Don was certain he was about to protest, but he snapped it shut again, looking down at Michelangelo's bowed head. _He knows it too,_ Don thought. _We wouldn't last five minutes…no, _seconds_…against those creatures now._

Bishop sighed too, and the stern visage dropped from his features. "I have not shown this to anyone else besides my translators," he said quietly. "I don't know where this message comes from, or what it means. But it seems to be a warning. What if these things you fought so long ago are coming here? What if that is what the message means? I need more information, and you three are the only ones who have seen these things, who could figure out what is happening. I don't want to ask this of you…but maybe it is something you should do. Something you _need_." He reached over and slipped a small disc out of the computer. "This is a copy. Perhaps you can translate more, or track its origin. I—" He cut off abruptly as the lights flickered and an alarm sounded just as an aide burst into the door.

"Sir! The man shouted. "Something is happening to our systems! We can't seem to contain it!"

"What is it?" Bishop demanded, turning back to the screen and typing quickly. He had barely touched the first keys when the screen flashed bright green and a stream of terrifyingly familiar symbols began to flow across it. Bishop swore and began typing frantically, but Don could have told him he was wasting his time. Once a system was infected, there was no stopping it…well, no way but one.

Turning, strangely calm, to the aide, he said quickly, "Cut the hard lines. It's the only way to stop the virus from spreading."

The man blinked at him. "B-but that will take out the planet's defenses! We can't do that!"

Irritated, Don grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and shook him roughly, his calmness rapidly being consumed by sudden rage. "Just do it! That virus will take out the planet's defenses anyway!" He shoved the aide towards the door. To his further annoyance the man looked at Bishop, who waved him onward without looking up.

"I knew you would be able to help," the President muttered. "What is this code? Is it the same code you told us about ten years ago?"

"I can't tell you a whole lot, " Don replied. "I barely had a chance to study it from before. I know it disables anything computerized and you can't stop it with anything short of destroying the things it infects. The Hovershell was unusable even after I took it apart. The planetary systems will go down, but if we can stop the virus from infecting them, I can reboot them remotely from our systems at O'Neal Tech." At that, Bishop stopped typing and looked at him.

"And when, I wonder, did you acquire that ability?" He asked, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses.

Don met his gaze evenly. "Right after Sh' Okanabo. After all, your systems were easily corrupted by that irritating she-virus. I thought a backup would not be a bad idea, all things considered." Bishop stared at him for a moment longer, then a smile quirked up the corners of his thin lips.

"Touche. Very well, that will be our plan of action. Assuming they cut the lines in time…" As if his words were a cue, the room suddenly went dark, the only light filtering in from the street lamps outside. The power grid of the planet was not directly connected to the main power of the city, but instead devoted its energy to maintaining planetary defense and weapon systems. Don immediately booted up his own wrist computer, hooking up with the system at the tech company and praying that the virus hadn't spread fast enough to reach even their systems. The computer was clean, however, and within seconds, he had the planet's satellites up and running again.

"There. If any big uglies try to get onto the planet now, they are in for a nasty surprise."

Bishop looked at him. "You think this presages an attack?"

Don shook his head. "No. The virus probably spread from the message you got. After all, we heard what happened to those trying to send it. Those…_things_…can infect things just by touching them."

"And," Raph interjected grimly. "If those things were attackin', I bet we'd know by now."

"Yeah," Mikey added. "They covered Ceratopa in a matter of minutes."

Bishop nodded. He'd heard all this before, in their report from ten years ago. "Thank you for your help, Donatello. And thanks to all of you for coming to hear me out. I will have the ship take you home."

"Wait." Cody, who had been silent up to that point, turned to look at each of them in turn. "I know that we all wish things were different, but the fact remains that what happened did happen." He couldn't refer to the incident as what it was—none of them could. "But I think President Bishop is right. We need to act. You said it yourself, Don…we need to move on. What better way than to get revenge against those things and find out what happened to Leo?"

Donatello remained silent. They were all thinking about it. Reluctance dragged at every corner of him, but at the same time a small spark of anticipation began to grow. Bishop watched them patiently, impassively. Cody continued to implore them with his eyes. Mikey watched his feet, his expression torn, and Splinter stared into the distance, apparently thinking hard. Don wondered what his own expression held and Raph…

"We ain't ready," Raph said, breaking the silence.

Cody sighed. "I know…but it is a long way to where that recording came from, even for our technology. Plenty of time to whip back up into shape! Come on, guys…please?"

Don looked at his master. Splinter's gaze had snapped back into focus, and now he and Bishop were regarding each other in silence, seeming to have some kind of conversation. After a moment, Bishop smiled. "Just get in and find out what we are dealing with. Once we know that, then I can formulate a plan and bring the PGA to our defense. I don't want you to endanger yourselves unnecessarily."

"Hmm," Splinter replied. "Very well. We will help you in this endeavor."

"Yes," Cody breathed.

"Master?" Michelangelo said hesitantly.

Splinter looked up at him and smiled. "It is alright, my son. Cody is right. We need action. We have neglected our skills and our purpose for far too long."

"An' Leo'd blow a gasket if he knew how much we've slacked off," Raph said quietly. Don blinked in surprise at him, bracing himself for the ache that always accompanied his lost brother's name. It didn't come. Instead, Don felt better than he had in a long time. The prospect of action—and he wouldn't deny it, the prospect of _revenge_—had done what ten years of grief could not. He looked around at the beloved faces of his family.

"Let's go."


	13. Chapter 9

_Why is it that the energy I need to write comes at three in the morning?? I've should be sleeping…ah well, I can't keep you all waiting like I have been, can I? Please enjoy and R&R! I never know how good these chapters are when I write them so late :D_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT---I think soon Nickelodeon will though…_

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Chapter 9

Raph stared at the pack in front of him without really seeing it. Around him, the penthouse was silent, the only sound the hum of the refrigerator behind him. Cody and Don were out in the hangar, working on the ship that would take them into space. Michelangelo and Splinter were gathering weapons and gear together somewhere else in the house. The kitchen he stood in seemed massive, empty, even with several pounds worth of food littering the counter in front of him. He was supposed to be packing food for the trip, but he couldn't keep his mind from wandering.

It was a war within him. Half of him was leaping with excitement at the prospect, of taking off into space and leaving these ten terrible years behind him, a chance to fight and relieve the pressure of his ever-present anger. The other half, though…

He was terrified. He would barely admit it to himself, but he couldn't deny it. The thought of losing even one more brother to those things made his hands tremble, his resolve weak. He was deathly afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect them. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to handle it if….if…

They were all afraid of that, he supposed. He also believed it was the reason they had all stopped fighting. Each was afraid that if they continued to fight as ninja, that another of them would fall victim to that dangerous lifestyle. Leo had given his life to see them safe, and he knew they were all petrified that they wouldn't be able to honor his sacrifice. That if another one of them fell, they would have made his act worthless.

It was cowardice, Raph thought with a curl of his lip. Pure and simple. But it did not change the fact that he felt that way. And he hadn't been exaggerating when he told Bishop that they weren't ready. He was fairly certain that even Hun could easily defeat them, as a hundred year old man. They were as helpless as kittens, now.

Roughly, he began shoving food once more into the pack. That was going to change, he thought grimly. He would change it. He would protect his brothers. That was his job now, with Leo gone. He was now oldest.

"What'd you say 'bout that now, huh, Fearless?" He asked the air around him. He sometimes talked to nothing, imagining his eldest brother could still hear him from wherever he was. "I've done a pretty pathetic job of it so far, haven't I. I never got it, you know. I never realized what you thought 'bout, all the time…never thought you coulda felt this kind of fear. But you musta felt it every time we fought. Every time we faced the Foot, every time we acted as ninjas are suppose' to." He laughed hollowly. "It's why you were as angry as me after Shredder's ship…we all coulda died. So you lied…you lied so that would never happen again, is that it?" Anger rose up in him…with a massive effort, he crushed it. Anger would come later—would come when he had a sai in each hand, plunging into black rubbery flesh…

"Raph?"

The soft voice made him jump, cursing. He was suddenly embarrassed. Had Mikey heard him talking to himself like a fool? "How long you been there?" he snarled, a little harsher than he had intended.

Michelangelo didn't flinch, and the soft smile didn't leave his face. "It's okay, Raph. I do it too, you know. The only one who doesn't is Don…guess he's too scientific to do that."

"Hmph." Raph went back to his packing, hoping Michelangelo would take the hint and leave. He wasn't comfortable, even now, with sharing his feelings…especially these ones.

Instead of leaving, Mikey entered the kitchen the rest of the way, grabbing a second pack off a nearby shelf and beginning to shove food into it. They worked quietly for a time, the only sound the clink of cans and plop of powered, dehydrated food that would work well in space. Raph eyed his brother sideways, wondering what he was thinking about.

"You okay with this, Mike?"

Michelangelo didn't answer for a bit. When he did, his voice was very quiet. "No. But we gotta, don't we?" He dropped the last can of food into his pack and cinched it tight. Clenching the strings in his fingers, he turned to look at his red-clad brother. "You didn't do a pathetic job, you know."

"Hah," Raph returned humorlessly. "Look at us."

"I mean it. We're all alive…and you'll get us back into shape, just like Leo used to."

Raph shook his head. "I'm no Leonardo, Mike."

"No. But you are Raphael…my _other_ biggest brother."

Raphael stared at Michelangelo for several seconds. "Mike…"

"Just do your best, Raph. That's all you can do. It's all Leo ever did."

"It wasn't enough to keep him from gettin' killed." As soon as the words left his mouth, Raph immediately wished he could take them back. But Mikey only looked at him seriously and replied,

"It was enough to save the three of us. It was enough to save the rest of the people on Ceratopa. That's what we _do_, Raph. At least, what we used to do."

Raph opened his mouth to respond, but another voice spoke first. "That's what we'll do again." He turned to see Donatello standing in the doorway, a flat handheld computer casting a muted blue glow over his olive green features.

"What is this," Raph demanded, "a bug-Raphael-so-he-can't-get-anything-done-day, or what?"

"Oh, you look pretty done to me. A little over-done, actually."

Raph looked down at the pack he'd been working on. It was fairly bursting at the seams, and he could tell just by looking at it that he'd never get it closed. Grumbling, he began taking things out, as Don laughed. "It doesn't really matter right now. I want you both to come with me. We've finished the new Hovershell. I'd like your opinion."

"Already?" Mike asked. "Geez, that was fast, even for you."

"Well, it helped having some of Bishop's best people to help out. And Stockman…though if he gives me one more 'suggestion', I might take a page out of Raph's book and knock him into next week."

Raph managed a laugh. Aggressive Don always amused him. "Yeah, he was pretty ticked when he found out Bishop had picked _you_ to do somethin' 'bout that stupid alien virus an' not him."

"I'm just glad I found a way to make him stay _here_." Don shuddered. "Can you imagine several months in space with him constantly around? I think I would go crazy."

"How _did_ you get him ta stay, anyway?" Raph asked curiously.

Don grinned. "I told him that the planet's defenses would rely on his skills if we failed to succeed on our mission." Seeming to realize what he just said, he added quickly, "But we won't fail, so it doesn't matter."

Just like that the mood changes, Raph thought darkly. Well, Don was absolutely right, however. Failure was not an option.

He managed another encouraging smile for his younger brothers and gestured. "Let's go see this ship of yours, Donny."

"Right." Don turned on his heel and led the way to the hangar. Raph followed closely behind him, eager in spite of himself. Another thing that had been sadly lacking in the last ten years was more of Don's new inventions. The brainy-turtle had not stopped tinkering—Raph knew that when that happened it would probably be the day the universe ceased to exist—but he hadn't really invented anything remotely useful in a long time. He spent most of his time working in the lab, scouring every information system he could find, looking for some kind of plausible theory that could explain what had happened to Leonardo. Raph had asked him why he bothered to even try and he could remember exactly the purple clad turtle's explosive reaction.

"_Because I have to!!" Don had yelled, straight into his face. "Because giant craters that disintegrate everything in their paths do not just _happen_. There has to be a reason…there has to be an explanation of what went wrong!"_

_He'd yelled back, eager to vent some of his own anger on someone. "Who cares why it happened, Don! It doesn't change the fact that it _did. _It doesn't change anything! It won't bring Leo back!"_

_Don had gotten very quiet after that. Raph fidgeted, trying to think of something to say, when Mike joined the argument. "Maybe it won't bring Leo back, Raph. But at least it will give us something…some kind of justice, maybe…"_

_Don had put a hand on the youngest's shoulder, and looked at Raph. "It won't change anything…but I still have to know. Even if Leo had managed to plant his explosives and destroy the time machine, it still shouldn't have had a reaction like that. Time doesn't backlash like that…it shouldn't be possible. Something else happened…if I can figure out that, maybe I can, I don't know…find a way to change it."_

"_By buildin' another machine? Don, you know that's crazy…we can't change the past without destroyin' the future, remember? You taught us that."_

"_Maybe…but I'd rather destroy this future than keep it…wouldn't you?"_

Raph had fallen silent then, and said no more about Don's personal quest. He knew in his gut that it was wrong for them to wish that, but he couldn't deny his own feelings on the subject. He didn't point out the many other lives that were continuing on as they were around them, unaffected by their personal tragedy. All those futures would be destroyed as well. But it was hard to care about the woes of someone else when you were drowning in your own.

But it had turned out to be moot. Don could not, to his utter exasperation, figure out what happened, and therefore he couldn't figure out a way to change it. It was a disappointment, but also a relief. Raph didn't think he could take any more responsibility on his shoulders, and he knew the weight of that decision would haunt all of them for the rest of their lives.

"The new Hovershell," Don said, pulling him out of his reverie.

Raph stared up at the new ship. Don had kept the turtle shell design of the first Hovershell, and as far as he could tell, the ship looked exactly like its predecessor. He blinked. "It looks exactly the same, Donny."

"I know. But it's anything but. Let me show you." Don pushed a button and the hatch on the top opened up. He jumped lightly inside, his nimble fingers flying over the dash controls. Raph opened his mouth to tell him he still couldn't see any difference—and then stumbled involuntarily back as the front of the ship contorted and two huge, open barreled cannons pointed directly at him.

"Whoa. Easy with the hardware, Brainiac," he said, straightening.

Donatello laughed. "It's alright, they aren't armed right now. But they'll do some serious damage when they are. You see, when we fought those creatures before, they were susceptible to explosives, but I think it wasn't actually the explosion itself, but extreme heat. So, these are equipped with a superpowered laser blast, that burns over six thousand Kelvin."

Raph had no clue what a Kelvin was, but it sounded hot to him. However, he had to point out something. "Our weapons give out heat an' energy, Don. An' they didn't even scratch those walkin' blobs."

"Yes, they emit heat. But it just wasn't hot enough."

"You really think these can kill those things, Donny?" Mikey asked, running a finger along the inside edge of one of the giant barrels.

Don nodded, his expression suddenly fierce. "I'm completely positive. These cannons will flash fry those monsters into ashes."

"It is nice to hear such confidence in your words again, Donatello," a new voice interjected. Raph turned as Splinter came around the other side of the ship, a tray with several glasses in his hands. Raphael hurried to take the tray from his master, passing around the tea to each of them as he did so.

"Thank you, Master," Don replied, sipping his tea. "Unfortunately, getting our weapons to that temperature has been a little problematic. The technology doesn't exist that can allow me to get that much heat into something so small. I've tried every way I can think of." He let out a frustrated sigh. "That means we can't really get into close combat with those things."

Raph grunted, disappointed. He wanted very much to sink his sai into slimy flesh. He considered the cannons. Guess he would have to be satisfied with firing those, instead.

Splinter sipped his own tea, and looked at them all seriously. "This is strictly a reconnaissance mission, Donatello. I do not intend to engage these creatures at all if I can help it. The cannons will be a last resort."

"But Master—" Raph started to protest.

Splinter cut him off with a downward slashing motion of his free hand. "You made the point yourself, Raphael, in our earlier conversation with Bishop. We are not ready to face these things. Even the few months of training we will engage in will not make us ready. We cannot face these things head on."

"But we _can_ figure out what they are up to and give us something to fight back with later, Raph," Don added. "After all, us going to take a look isn't going to stop those things from advancing. If we can get some good intel, then we can move forward and destroy those things with an army at our backs."

"Hmph." Raph downed the rest of his tea in one gulp. "I don't think it's gonna be that simple, Don."

"Nothing ever is," his brainy brother replied. "And, it might take me longer than we have to figure out how to stop that alien virus. Since it disables any machine it comes in contact with, it's impossible for me to test any means of combating it."

Raph frowned. "Are you sayin' we still can get infected?"

"I am," Don said softly. "Which means Master Splinter is right. We can only gather information, at least this time. Maybe with that information, I can find a way to stop the virus. Until then…" he shrugged, shaking his head.

Raph grunted again and decided to change the subject. "So what else does this thing do?"

"Oh, the usual stuff," Don replied. "Flight, maneuverability, shields and regular weapons. I also upgraded the invisibility cloak. Now it won't reflect even the tiniest sliver of light or sound. We will be undetectable." He touched something on the console in front of him, and the ship abruptly disappeared from sight. It reappeared only a moment later, Don's voice suddenly emerging at the same moment.

"—can't even hear me and I'm talking right next to you."

Raph whistled, impressed. "That'll certainly be useful on recon, Donny."

"I know." The purple clad turtle smiled briefly. "It also has state-of-the-art life support systems and a nearly indestructible Donatellium hull. We'll be as prepared as we can be, at any rate."

"Great!" Mikey said enthusiastically. He jumped easily up into the ship, putting his hands on his hips and surveying the space around him. Raph eyed him critically. In spite of his lack of training for so long, Mikey was still athletic. That relieved the red clad turtle somewhat—it meant that training would go a bit easier.

"Um, Don…" Mikey was looking, dead serious, at Donatello.

"What, Mikey?"

"Didn't you install a fridge?!?"

* * *

"OW!!!" Michelangelo yelled at the top of his lungs as, for the umpteenth time, Splinter's walking stick slammed into his midsection and sent him tumbling into the wall. Don was in similar straits across the way, pulling himself up with his staff. Raph glanced at Cody, who was fully outfitted in the armor that was known as both Serling and Turtle X. Cody grinned at him. He was the only one who wouldn't be sporting bruises again that evening, thanks to his armor. Raph shook his head and charged, bringing both sai up to meet his master's counter. He had to keep going, to keep pushing. He had to be _ready_.

They were training, as they had been for the last five months, in a dojo similar to the giant turtle shell arena back on Earth that Cody had designed for them at Serling's vehement behest, after their usual training sessions had wrecked his precious living room. Raph had wondered earlier how they were going to train on the new Hovershell—it wasn't much larger than the old, and there was no way they could move freely in the cabin. He didn't give his brainy brother enough credit, however; as soon as they had left Earth's atmosphere, Don had proudly uncovered his greatest achievement in the ship's new design.

When they had first come across actual proof of Darius's manufacturing of weapons, the creepy CEO had hid it using one of the strangest ideas Raph had ever heard of, even for the future. As Don had put it, he had vibrated particles or something at different rates in order to allow two rooms to occupy the same space. It gave Raphael goosebumps just thinking about it, but it had certainly come in extremely handy. Now, both the dojo and the regular parts of the ship occupied the same space, giving them ample space to train.

And, they had used it to full advantage. Raph could already see the improvements in himself, and most especially in his brothers. When it came to a fight now they were no longer as helpless as kittens. They weren't yet up to the standard that Leo—and Splinter—would have called acceptable, but he knew that they were ready for most of what the universe could throw at them.

He was forced to drop his contemplation as Splinter's staff came dangerously close to connecting with the side of his head. He twisted to the side, keeping one foot tucked underneath him, and swept a leg out toward to trip Splinter up. He knew he wouldn't hit—Splinter had always been faster than all of them, with the possible exception of Michelangelo—so he was completely surprised when his foot connected, sweeping his master's clawed feet out from under him. Splinter landed with a thump and a cry and Raph, stunned, lost his balance and landed on his chest, momentarily knocking the air out of him. He gasped for breath, struggling to hands and knees, and crawled towards Splinter, who lay quite still, staring up at the ceiling.

"Master, are ya okay?" Raph gasped, as Don, Mike, and Cody all hurried over to them. Splinter brushed off Donatello's offer of assistance and sat up, smiling.

"Forgive me for startling you, Raphael," the old rat said ruefully. "I was quite unprepared for your attack. Well done."

"I...I was just thinkin' on my feet, is all, Master," Raph said uncertainly.

Splinter's grin broadened, showing two even rows of white, sharp teeth. "Yes, I know, my son. It seems even an old hand like me can lose his touch after years of inaction. You, at least, have kept in some semblance of shape. Come, I think it is time for a break."

"Good idea," Serling's disembodied voice cut in. "I enjoy being in this form, but it is a strain on the neck, if you know what I mean."

Mikey laughed. "Your neck is made of _metal_, Serling. Shell, your whole body is. How can you strain anything?"

"I may be far superior to you _organics_," Serling retorted disdainfully, "But that doesn't mean—" He broke off as a beeping sound filled the chamber.

Raph scrambled to his feet, his hand already going for the silver band around his wrist that allowed him to exist in the same space as the dojo. His family followed suit, and the world rippled around them, resolving itself into the familiar shape of the ship's cockpit.

Don hurried forward towards the front of the ship, the others close on their heels. Raph grinned to himself. Donatello had truly thought of everything. Instead of sending them back between the two spaces wherever they happened to be standing at the time, he had made it so that they all entered and exited between the two in the same place, at the back of the cockpit, or in the case of the dojo, in the center of it. That way, no one would materialize inside a chair or halfway through the computer controls.

"What is it, my son?" Splinter's voice brought him out of his musing.

"I don't…wait. I think…I think we might be here!"

"Here?" Mikey queried.

"Here. The source of the transmission that brought us here in the first place." A dark mass loomed in front of them. Raph recognized the dark surface of a planet. Whatever passed for a sun to this planet was on the other side of it, so the mass of rock was in deep shadow. Don reached across the console, flipping several switches. With a slight hum, the cloaking shields slid into place over the ship like a thick blanket.

"You mean," Cody said hesitantly, "those creatures are out there?"

"I don't know. But if that message came from here, then it's safe to assume they are. I don't want to take any chances. Everybody get to your places."

Raph obeyed without hesitation, hurrying to his usual seat. He respected his master's assertion that the cannons be a last resort, but he brought their commands up on the screen in front of him, ready to fire at a moment's notice. As they all had learned long ago, it was better safe than sorry.

Mike dropped heavily into the seat next to him, and he tried to give his youngest brother a reassuring smile. As if he read his intent, Mike grinned back. "If you're trying to make me feel better, bro, you suck at it." But some of the color came back into his face.

"Time for some major payback, bro," Raph said seriously. "One way or another."

Donatello had slid into the pilot's seat, Cody, out of Turtle X, taking Leonardo's usual seat next to him in front of navigation, and Serling and Splinter moved to the back of the cockpit. Don guided the ship forward, into the planet's atmosphere. They descended for a time in tense silence. After what seemed like ages, Raph could see the vague shapes of terrain below them. Don let out a slow breath.

"What do you see, Cody?" He asked softly.

"One moment," Cody said. He scanned the monitor in front of him. "It's hard to tell, you said they don't give off a heat signature, so I'm scanning for…" He broke off with a gasp. "Wait, I see heat! Several life forms, off to the left. And that purplish blue around them…that must be…"

"Monsters," Splinter said grimly. "Look."

Raph followed his pointing finger, and felt his stomach tighten, and for a moment, it was all he could do to stamp down the riling fear in his belly. He fanned his anger at the sight of them, hundreds of them, black bodies blacker against the night around them, wicked tentacles waving in the air. Surrounded on all sides, a small group of people, barely visible against the darkness, fired strange weapons into the mass. The small bursts of light seemed to do some damage to the nightmarish creatures surrounding them, but even Raph could see that they would soon be overwhelmed. His hands moved of their own accord, and a low hum filled the cockpit as he brought the cannons online.

"Raph, what are you doing?" Mike asked, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"We can't just leave 'em all to die out there, can we?" He returned. His eyes found Splinter's. "Master…"

For a long moment, the old rat held his gaze. Then his dark eyes softened and he breathed out a soft sigh. "No, we cannot."

"So much for recon," Don muttered. "If we're going to do this, let's do it. They don't have much time left." He banked the ship, bringing them around and in line with the beleagured group of fighters. "I have to turn the cloaking device off in order for you to be able to use the cannons." He flipped a switch, and Raph knew they were now visible to everything on the planet's surface. He swallowed, hoping he had made the right choice. Right or not, it was too late now. Don lifted a hand. "Fire when ready!"

"Oh, I'm ready," Raph growled. The front of the Hovershell shuddered and reformed as the twin barrels of the huge cannons slid out. He pushed hard on the controls, and with a roar that shook the planet around them, twin streams of laser blasts erupted from the ship, tearing a swath through the dark mass of creatures.

Raph yelled out loud, exultant, and at that very second, all the years washed away. He felt his anger release, a pulse of adrenaline shooting through his veins as the cannons vaporized the enemy creatures, slicing through black rubbery flesh like a molten knife through butter. Around him, he could hear the shouts of his brothers, urging him onward, and he continued to fire, driving the monsters back and away from their victims, and Don brought the ship around, giving Raph more room to attack.

Still firing, Raph turned his gaze for a moment to the people on the ground. Several had moved forward, and were firing their own weapons into the mass of creatures, while others were picking up wounded and moving to the center of their fellows. One, his blue skin shining faintly in the muted light from the cannons and laser fire, was staring up at them. He raised his hand, in gratitude or greeting, Raph couldn't tell, but then suddenly he stiffened and started waving his arms, frantically.

"What's he doing?" Mike asked, following Raph's gaze. "I think he's trying to tell us some—"

The Hovershell rocked. Raph lost his grip on the cannon controls and nearly his seat, planting on foot to keep from sliding off. The ship shuddered again, sending them all sliding the other way and Raph stared in horror at the large, dark tentacle that was suddenly covering the top part of the glass window surrounding them. A terrible shriek ripped through his skull and he immediately shielded himself as a crawling presence tried to push its way into his mind. Cody cried out—it would be his first time countering the effects of a mental attack and Mikey reached back and grabbed his red-haired friend's hand, offering support. Serling grabbed Cody's shoulder, steadying him. Raph was glad for the robot's presence—as and inorganic being, he was impervious to a psychic attack.

"It's the mother-creature!" Don yelled, pulling hard at the controls in an attempt to free them from its grasp. The Hovershell rolled with the movement, spinning around, and below them, Raphael could see a familiar, gaping maw below them. The engines roared, but the tentacles only tightened, slowly dragging the ship downward. Raph straightened into his seat, and leveled the cannons down at it, blocking the creature's psychic assault at the same time.

"I'll take care of it," he growled. His thick index fingers came down hard on the controls. The cannons blared into life, a brilliant streak of molten light rocketing down and slamming into the monster. Its psychic shriek turned into a physical one, and with a sickening splatter it exploded, spraying dark goop all over.

"Got it!" Michelangelo yelled triumphantly.

"Don't celebrate just yet!" Don yelled back, his voice taut. His hands were gripping the steering controls so hard his knuckles were white. Raph became aware of a strange sound. It took him a few moments to realize what it was.

The engines were dying.

He looked frantically down at the screen in front of him. Instead of the data for the operation of the cannons, the familiar, terrifying green code rolled across it. He looked up at the other screens, only to see the same result. The ship shuddered again. "Don, whadda we do?"

Don's teeth were gritted. "There's nothing we can do. I'm going to have to try to land this thing. I'll get us as close to those people as I can…maybe then we'll have a chance."

He pulled the ship around and began to descend, rather more rapidly than Raph would have liked, but there was no help for it. The engines sputtered and sparked, as the alien code began disabling their functions, and Don yelled, "Hold on!" as they died completely.

Raph gripped the seat with both hands, and just in time, as the ship and all its inhabitants dropped towards the ground like a falling star. Raph closed his eyes, but he didn't get to keep them closed for long as the ship hit the ground with an earth-shattering thud that jarred him from head to feet. Cody and his brothers cried out, Serling yelled, and he heard Splinter hiss through his teeth.

"Everybody alright?" Raph demanded, pushing off his seatbelt and taking inventory. Around them, a wall of dust prevented him from seeing outside, but he ignored it for the moment in favor of checking the inside. Thanks to the seatbelts, everyone but Serling had remained seated, though he was certain they would all have strap shaped bruises later. The large silver robot picked himself up with a grunt as everyone nodded affirmatively to his question. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," Don said breathlessly. "I tried to bring us down as gently as I could. It's a good thing we were going straight down…it means we landed more or less upright."

"And thank goodness for the Donatellium hull," Cody added shakily. "It kept us from breaking apart, too."

"Guess they can still spread the virus through touch, huh," Mikey said somberly.

"Yes," Don said, and swore softly. "I never meant us to get close enough to get touched, but…"

"But I had to go an' play good Samaritan," Raph interjected. "I'm sorry, Donny."

Don shook his head. "Don't be. We couldn't leave, no matter what. But now…"

Now, indeed. The dust was settling around them. They could see the outside now, and what loomed in the darkness made Raph swear, loudly and creatively. A seething mass of black death stretched in all directions. Raph drew his sai, though he knew they weren't going to be very effective. Still, they felt comforting in his hands.

"What do we do, Raph?" Mikey asked softly. They were all looking at him, he realized. He wished they wouldn't. Suddenly he knew what Leo must have felt like, so many times before. They were looking to him for a plan…a way out of a hopeless situation.

He cleared his throat, trying to think. They were surrounded on all sides, but there was still that group of people they had tried to rescue. Their weapons weren't much, but at least they were somewhat effective. "Let's see if we can get to those people outside. Maybe we can get 'em in here and be able to hold the monsters off, at least for a little while. Hell, maybe they know a way out of this. Even outnumbered as they were, they seemed ta know what they were doin'."

"It'd be pretty crowded, but it's worth a shot," Don said grimly. "The question is, can we even get to them?"

"We gotta try."

"Yes," Splinter said. "Cody-san…you take Serling and go first. With his weaponry, you stand the best chance of clearing a path. We will follow you."

"Right, Master Splinter," Cody said with a nod. "I won't let you down."

Raph's hands clenched on his sai as Serling transformed and Cody clambered up into his opened midsection. The glass closed over his friend's somber features, and Raph felt his throat tighten. Here they were, in exactly the situation they had hoped to avoid. They might reach the others, they might not, but it seemed certain to Raph now, though he tried with all his might to deny it, that the situation was truly hopeless. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and outmatched. The vaunted tech of the Hovershell was beyond reach. Turtle X was still functioning, but only until one of the things managed to get a tentacle onto it—then Serling would fall victim to the alien virus as well. And when that happened, it would be all over.

_Leo, I'm sorry_, Raph thought as the hatch opened and Turtle X jumped out, followed closely by the rest of them. His feet touched cold dead ground and Raph straightened, mentally and physically squaring his shoulders. He imagined his older brother was standing next to him, silently offering strength. It was a crazy vision, but he held onto it as hard as he could.

_I can't save them, Fearless Leader…but I won't let them go without a fight._

_

* * *

_

_Hope you enjoy...I didn't put in anything for the five months they spent traveling in space...wasn't sure if it would be boring or not. Please let me know if you would like some of that and I"ll put it in somewhere! Was it too abrupt? I wanted to get to the meat of the story, so I was in a bit of a rush. At any rate, things begin rolling for sure in the next chapter!_


	14. Chapter 10

And so…chapter ten. Um, don't hate me? I never meant to let it go this long, but as you all know I'm sure, life tends to get in the way of hobbies. Thanks to my recent reviewers for getting me back on track! So enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own…but I wish I did.

* * *

Chapter 10

Mikey knew that Raphael would do his best to train them—but sitting on his shell, nursing a bruised wrist, he rather wished he _wouldn't_. His red-masked brother had waited only long enough for them to get out of the moonport and into space on autopilot before he dragged everyone to the back of the cockpit and into the dojo. And now, Mikey was beginning to realize that Raphael was more of a slave driver than Leonardo ever was.

He knew why he was doing it—Raph wanted to make sure that they were as ready as they could be. He knew it…but it didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

Don grunted as he hit the wall next to Mikey, wincing and rubbing his plastron with one hand. "Ugh. I forgot how _hard_ Raph can hit," his brainy brother muttered.

Mikey managed a grin for him. "I haven't. He hits me all the time."

"Only because you bring it on yourself," Don retorted, but he was grinning too, hauling himself to his feet. Raph's voice echoed from across the dojo.

"Again!"

"He sounds just like Leo," Mikey said without thinking, and froze as a look of pain crossed Donatello's features. He cursed his big mouth. When would they ever be able to speak Leo's name without that happening? Of course, now that they were on a course to maybe find out what happened to their big brother, it helped, but at the same time, it just reminded Mikey more and more of what happened. He was heading for the place that plagued his nightmares…and it was disconcerting to feel both terror and eagerness at the same time.

Raph's voice interrupted his musings again. "Do I have to come over there? What are ya doin'?"

"Sorry," Mikey called out. "There are only so many times a guy can get up after bein' knocked on his shell, you know."

Raph snorted. "Yeah, well get used to it. We ain't got a lotta time."

"We _know_, Raph," Don said wryly. "But it _is_ only the first day."

"He is correct, my son," Splinter added from where he was sitting, lotus-style, against the wall. "We must take it slowly, at least initially."

Raph scowled, but he didn't argue. Instead, he shifted his stance, and Mikey recognized the first of the most basic of katas their master had taught them, many years ago. "Aww, do we have to?" He complained, rising to his feet and following Don as they joined their hot-headed sibling.

Splinter rose to his feet and slid into a stance next to Raphael. "Sometimes it is better to start from the beginning," he said softly. "Even for me." Cody jumped down out of Turtle X and joined them as Serling transformed back into his usual charming self. The robot sniffed.

"I don't see why Cody has to train like this. He has me."

"Yes," Don retorted caustically. "Right up until one of those monsters gets a tentacle onto you and then what? You saw what was left of the old Hovershell."

That had the desired effect of shutting the amazingly sarcastic robot up. Though, it certainly didn't make Mikey feel any better. Instead, he closed his mouth and focused instead on the kata. This time, they would be ready. This time, _he_ would be ready.

_There were so many of them. Mikey bit back the bile he could feel rising in the back of his throat. It was a seething mass of death down there—he tried to grin at the expression, but didn't quite succeed. He guessed it was easier to joke about death when you weren't about to experience it._

_Automatically, his gaze shifted from the outside to the silent figures around him. Raph's hands were clenched around the hilt of his sai, so hard that even his dark knuckles were white. Don stared at the screen in front of him, his teeth gritted, his fingers flying with even more speed than usual on the keys. Leo was looking out at the chaos below them, his expression unreadable. Mikey swallowed. Usually when Leonardo was unreadable, he was coming to a decision that_ none_ of them would like._

_Don finally seemed to notice the terrified silence that had engulfed the cockpit, broken only by the rapid typing of his olive fingers. He looked at them for a minute, seeming about to say something, then transferred his gaze to the outside. Mike watched as his brainy brother paled, his mouth dropping open, mirroring the expression he was sure was decorating his own face._

"_What are they?" Don whispered. Ever the scientist, Mikey thought. Somehow, even that small quip, internal though it was, made him feel worse. It was like he was trying to bring some normalcy into a situation that was anything but. And why not? Crazy, weird stuff happened to them all the time. What made this time different?_

"_I don't know." The flat note in Leo's tone drew Michelangelo's immediate attention. "But we will not make it to the Alliance base in time unless we stop them from multiplying more. Donatello, there must be a way to shut down the machine."_

"_Well," his brainy brother said thoughtfully. "We could blow it up…but it might deplete our resources enough that we won't make it anywhere close to the PGA. And if the ship fails while we are over…that…" He trailed off, and suddenly Mikey understood the difference._

_This was like that time, so long ago. That time, on the Shredder's ship…knowing that their only way out would almost assuredly mean their own destruction. Sure, thanks to the timely intervention of the Utrom, they had managed to survive that encounter. But looking down at the seething mass of creatures below them, Mikey didn't think they would have guardian angels to come to their rescue this time. They had left those a hundred years in the past._

_Leonardo nodded once. He asked them now, as he had asked them then. "Raph? Mike?"_

"_I don't run from fights, Leo," Raph said. "Bring it on."_

_Typical Raph. But it was comforting, and gave Mikey the courage to respond in kind. "I'm okay with it too, Leo." He heard his voice shake, but only barely, and he was proud of himself for it. "Let's go."_

"_Alright." The muscles in his shoulders tightened as Leo turned the yoke, banking the ship and taking them out over the chaos, heading straight for where the brightest light shone. Leo fired as they neared it, blowing huge chunks in the ceiling, and giving Mikey a clear view of the inside. He leaned forward in disgusted fascination. The first creature was still sitting in front of the window, her bloated body bobbing up and down slightly as she continued to crunch on pieces of Triceratons. The normally fun-loving turtle was once again was forced to swallow the urge to lose his lunch. Knowing he would regret upchucking all over the Hovershell in a situation like this, he decided to try to lighten the mood. "I'll say it again," he quipped, though it was spoiled slightly by another surge of his—according to Raph—overactive gag reflex. "Shredder's mother."_

_To his surprise—and shameless relief—Leonardo gave him an appreciative chuckle. "Well, let's take care of her, like we did him, once upon a time." Mikey was reassured by his brother's measured tones. The blue masked ninja touched a button, and again the cannons roared to life, a shaft of brilliant white arcing down towards the machine. Mike was about to cheer, already feeling relief that at least now no _more_ of the ugly suckers would manage to get through—_

_He was forced to grab on to the seat as the ship suddenly shuddered, twisting gut-wrenchingly skyward. He gave an involuntary yelp, Raph swore, and Don sucked in a breath. _

"_What the hell was that?" Raph demanded. Mikey took a moment to unclench his fingers as his leader replied, voice taut._

"_Tentacle."_

"_From what?"_

"_What do you think?"_

"_Well, excuse me, Fearless Leader, if I didn't think that even _that_ thing could reach this high."_

"_Well, neither did I. And we just paid dearly for it." Leo's suddenly hollow voice silenced Raph's sarcasm, sending a thrill of horror through Mikey's system. He _hated_ it when Leo sounded like that. It was unnatural._

"_What is it?" He asked, though he didn't really want to know._

"_I know," Don answered, staring at the computer screen in front of him. "That monster just infected our weapons system. Just by touching them! How is that even possible? Are they some kind of cybernetic organic blend or something? If it hits the engines, we are in trouble."_

"_So we have no weapons? Great." Raphael glowered down at the creature below them. "Talk about turtle luck."_

_Mikey stared down at the blobby monster, trying to stop his stomach from plummeting any farther. The ugly creature wiggled its long legs, shifting position. He watched it, repulsed and fascinated as it planted two of the longer tentacles in the ground and leaned back, lifting its massive jaws to aim directly up at them. Mikey frowned. This couldn't be good._

"_Guys," he interrupted Raph, who was about to launch into a tirade based around the aforementioned turtle luck. "What's it doing now?"_

"_Hold on!" Leo shouted and then pulled up hard on the controls. Mikey grabbed onto his seat again as the ship shot straight up, his breath hitching as the air seemed to leave the cabin in one big rush. Alarms rang out, and Mikey closed his eyes, waiting for the sickening feeling of weightlessness before they fell—but the ship suddenly evened out. He struggled to catch his breath, hearing the others doing the same. It was several seconds before Leo spoke._

"_Still have those grenades, Raph?"_

_Mikey's head shot up as his brother in red started and looked at Leonardo."Of course I do. An' you better not be thinkin' what I think yer thinkin', Fearless."_

_Leo didn't answer, unbuckling his seatbelt and rising to his feet. He turned to Donatello. "Take the controls. Fly me in as close as you can and I'll do the rest. Then take the ship and get as far as you can towards the PGA base. They must be warned. If this fails, then they will need to be prepared."_

"_What?" Don spluttered, and Mikey's breath hitched again when he realized what his oldest brother was proposing. "Leo, that's suicide!" Don voice rose. "We couldn't even get the ship in close enough, what makes you think you can take on that thing by yourself?"_

"_We can't leave the window open, Don, or more people than the Triceratons on this base are going to die." Leonardo's voice had taken on that irritatingly reasonable tone that meant that their arguments wouldn't sway him. As usual, that didn't stop Raph._

_ "You ain't going all martyr while I'm around, Fearless Leader!" Raphael roared, his gruff voice echoing around the cockpit. Mikey winced slightly at the volume, but he was grateful, at least right now, for Raph's temper. If anyone could yell Leo out of this idea, it was Raphael. "If anyone's gotta be a hero, it's gonna be me." _

_ He straightened to his full height and took a step forward—only to collapse to his knees with a grunt as Leonardo's elbow rammed into the soft flesh between shell and plastron. With an efficient jerk, the blue-masked ninja removed the strap containing the grenades from his brother, as Raph wrapped his arms around himself and glared up at him. _

"_Don't be an idiot, Raphael. I'm not doing this to be a hero, and I'm certainly not intending to get myself killed. These creatures have proved themselves vulnerable to explosives. If I can get to the time window with these, I may just be able to destroy it before more of those things can come through."_

This is crazy,_ Michelangelo thought, as the argument continued. He tried to keep focused on the discussion, but a horrible image kept rising in his head. Leonardo, standing in the center of a mass of black death, his blue glowing swords seeming small and insignificant compared to the terrifying horde. His stomach clenched. That wasn't how it was supposed to be. _

_He frowned, trying to change the image in his mind. He remembered back before they came to the future, when the demon Shredder was terrorizing the planet…it had been all four of them, together, that stopped it. It would be all four of them here, too, it had to be..._

"_Which means the ships are still intact," Don's voice interrupted his thoughts, the hopeful tone breaking through Mikey's internal musing. "And that strange code they use I'm pretty sure is for disabling machines, not running them, which means the onboard computers of the ships should still work."_

_Michelangelo blinked as he processed Don's words. If the ships of the base were still intact, then that meant that Leonardo would have a chance to escape. It meant…the horrifying vision of before shifted again and he saw himself, standing next to Leo, with Raph and Don beside them. That was it. That was how it was supposed to be. These thoughts running through his mind, Mikey spoke them aloud._

"_But Leo, why just you? If you are just going to take a Triceraton ship, why don't we all go? That way, we won't have to leave anybody behind."_

_His oldest brother smiled, his eyes soft, and shook his head. His voice was calm and even, but Mikey could detect a slight bit of appreciation in his tone. Leonardo understood their concern, but as usual, he was being the big brother and stubbornly intending to shoulder this burden alone. "Believe me, Mikey, if there were any other way, I'd take it. But there are three reasons why I'm going alone. One, I don't want to leave the Hovershell anywhere near these creatures. Its tech is too valuable. Two, if I fail to destroy the time window, someone must warn the PGA. And three…" he hesitated._

"_Three'd better be better than your first two, Fearless." Raph growled. Mikey nodded, the same thought running through his own mind._

_Leo sighed. "I…you just have to go. You can't stay here. Please, guys. I…I need to know you are all okay."_

_Mikey frowned at the odd statement. Like _they_ didn't need to know that _he_ was okay? What kind of reasoning was that? It made no sense…but as he thought more about it, he realized that a lot of Leonardo's actions this day hadn't made complete sense to the happy-go-lucky ninja. Don, as usual, was the first one to work it out._

"_You had a premonition, didn't you," he said slowly._

_Leo didn't hesitate this time. "Yes. I did. And it was horrible. Truly horrible." He looked around at all of them. "It didn't involve me, it didn't involve Master Splinter or Cody, just you three. Here, on this planet, it begins. I don't have details…but it scares the hell out of me. Please just go. I promise, if I can't finish the job I'll get out of there and meet you and we'll leave together. Whatever. But just _go_. It's the only way I know to protect you."_

_For his part, Michelangelo instantly believed his brother's words. He himself had experienced what his master called a 'premonition'. It was a long time ago, the first time the four of them had ventured deep into the underground in pursuit of the monsters lurking around the lair. It had been the first time they encountered the Alantians and their subterranean city. He had been sleeping after the first arduous day of hiking, and he'd dreamt of the evil in the tower, how it had reached out to swallow him whole. It turned out there was evil in the tower in the form of an Alantian man and he had tried to force them to remain in the city. It was one of the scariest things that Mikey had ever experienced—and that was saying something, when one considered the lifestyle of a ninja._

_Raph was speaking when Mikey's attention returned to the conversation. "I'm gonna hold ya to it."_

_Leo smiled. "Thank you, Raph."_

_Mikey realized he'd better get his two cents in, as well. "Me too, Leo," he said hastily. "I mean, I'm gonna hold you…uh…I mean to it…umm, hehe, yeah?"_

_ Leo laughed softly as Raph's hand collided with the back of Mikey's head. He turned to give a glare to his red-clad brother, as Donatello pulled his borrowed gauntlet off his wrist and gave it back the Leo. "You are going to need this."_

_ "Thanks," Leo replied, slipping it on. He reached into a compartment and pulled out a jet pack, sliding it onto his shoulders. "Let's go."_

_ Don brought the Hovershell around, and Mikey watched out the window as they once again flew out over the decimated base. The place was teeming with black shapes. Mikey could no longer hear or see any Triceratons. The worry that was still roiling in his belly surged. If an army of Triceratons couldn't stop these things, could Leo? By himself?_

_ Their bandanna tails whipped up around their faces as Leo opened the hatch. "Don't stop, don't slow down," Leo murmured. "They will see you before they see me, and that should be enough." He smiled at them and a lump suddenly sprang, full grown, into Mikey's throat. Abruptly he knew he didn't want Leo to go out there. The feeling was so strong it stopped his breath—and the words to stop his brother came too late as Leo leapt out of the hatch in one graceful movement and was gone._

_ Don turned the ship, zooming down past whipping tentacles. Mikey sat ramrod straight in his seat, fighting down the urge to grab the controls and force the ship around, back towards his eldest brother. He made himself breathe, as they moved out of range of the monsters, trying to focus on the task ahead of them. That had to be his main focus, now—getting to the PGA base as soon as possible so they could come back for Leonardo. That thought calmed him somewhat as Don gave a soft chuckle._

"_Guess it's a good thing that Cody installed so much junk into the Hovershell," he said, still fiddling with the controls._

_Raph growled noncommittally, staring out the side window to the rear. Mike looked at Donatello, grateful for the distraction. "Why's that?"_

"_It means that it'll take that virus longer to find our core engine system. We'll have a good amount of flight time to make it back—" _

_A white roaring echoed through Michelangelo's head. He felt the ship jerk and twist, throwing him painfully against the seat restraints as the Hovershell bucked and squealed and tumbled, rattling them like rag dolls. The world tilted sickeningly, and Mikey fought his natural gag reflex as Don struggled to right them, evening them out right before they hit the ground with a loud crash. Mikey shook his head, fighting unconsciousness, all thought pushed aside save for one. _

_Something had happened. Behind them. Back where Leonardo was. He ripped the seatbelt off. _

_Glass shattered—Mikey was dimly aware that Raph had broken the front window, but he spared him barely a thought, leaping out the new opening and running around the outside of the ship…horror flooded his mind and he screamed, silently in his mind…screamed and screamed and screamed—_

Mikey woke up with a gasp. That nightmare…always the same.

Always that day.

Slowly he pushed the blanket off of himself. The dojo was silent and dark, the only sounds the soft breathing of his family. He shakily climbed to his feet, navigating with the ease of long practice to the center of the room where he activated his bracelet. With a shimmering of air particles, the dojo dissolved, and Mikey found himself standing at the back of the empty cockpit.

The darkness of the stars glimmered faintly out the windows, and the consoles emitted softer light, guiding his trembling steps to the front of the ship. He pressed his forehead against the glass, letting the cold surface soothe an incoming headache. He gritted his teeth. He _hated_ that dream.

That _memory._

It took a while, but eventually his breathing slowed, and feeling returned to his numb body. He looked up at the passing stars, losing himself in their beauty and silence. Suddenly he wondered if Leonardo was out there somewhere, flitting amongst the stars, defending the universe still, even if no one knew he was there. He wondered if his brother could see them, if he was angry that they were returning to the very danger that had cost him his life.

"Are you mad, Leo?" he asked the night quietly. There was no answer. "We have to do it, you know," he continued softly. "For us, if not for you. I don't get it. You said the premonition was about us, that we'd be in trouble. But you were the one who…the one who…" he stopped, taking a deep breath.

The night stayed silent around him. He sat for a few more moments, listening, but no answer came, no whispers, of reassurance or reprimand, issued from the silent sky around him. He sighed one last time, and returned to the back of the cockpit. A few more days, and they would be there. A few more days and maybe…

He let the thought hang, as empty as the stars.

There were so _many_. Desperately, he lashed out, the warm orange glow of his 'chucks briefly lighting the slimy black creature as he batted away yet another ugly limb. Across the way, more flashes of light lit the darkness around him, as Serling fired into the mass, the super powered cannons of Turtle X doing more damage than Mikey's own un-bladed weapons.

_Doing more damage_, Mikey thought sourly, _but not nearly enough_. He saw Cody grit his teeth and pull hard on the controls, pulling Turtle X away before a tentacle could touch it. That was probably the millionth close call, in the few seeming _years _they'd been fighting this stupid battle. It was too much. There were simply too many.

A flash of silver and red suddenly streaked across his field of vision, and Raph's irritated voice echoed in his ear as the red-clad turtle grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way of yet another attack. "Pay attention, idiot! Are ya trying to get splattered? You're as bad as Don!" Raph knocked a tentacle out of the way and grabbed Mikey's arm, pulling him towards where Mike could see Master Splinter deliver a spinning kick, sending one of the creatures crashing into another. He landed easily, but a third monster, looming out of the darkness behind the first, bore down on him.

"Master!" Mikey yelled, pulling out of Raph's grip and starting forward, rearing one arm back to throw his chuck, spitting orange fire, at the attacker. It spun, seemingly in slow motion, and slammed straight into the monster's ugly, razor sharp maw. With a roar, the creature fell backwards and Splinter flashed him a smile before jumping straight back into the fray. Mike didn't smile back. He was down to one set of nunchucks, and the battle was far from over.

Raph was grumbling next to him. "Here," he said gruffly, thrusting one of his sharp-pronged weapons into Michelangelo's empty hand.

Mike immediately protested. "Hey, you need this more than I do, Raph!"

Raph snorted. "Both you an' Don can't do much damage to these things. At least with that, you'll be better able to protect yourself. I'll be alright with one."

"But…"

"Don't argue!" Raph interrupted impatiently. He batted yet another grotesque limb aside and stared forward, towards where more flashes of light blasted from Serling's cannons. Mike, frowning, followed.

They plowed a path forward, mostly through Raph's sheer irritation, and managed to close the distance between them and the others to a few feet. Mikey breathed a little easier. It would be far safer to fight back to back than to be separated in this horde. He opened his mouth to call out to Cody—only to abruptly snap it shut as movement flashed in his peripheral. A tentacle, dripping black slime, shot out from the right—straight at Raphael's unprotected flank. Raph was turned, his one remaining sai twisting as it drove a monster back from Donatello, leaving his right side totally exposed. Mikey yelled a warning as he ran forward, but it was too late.

With a sickening crack, the tentacle struck his brother in red, plunging deeply into his side and sending a splintering fissure along his shell. Raph roared in pain, dropping his sai and reaching around to his wounded side, grabbing a hold of slimy flesh and gripping hard, keeping the ugly thing from penetrating into his body any farther. Mike heard Don cry out even as he started forward, raising the sai, intending to slash through it, even though his brain screamed at him that this was impossible. The whole thing was impossible. He couldn't do it…

Not another brother…

Another flash in the corner of his eye. Another tentacle, shooting out of the darkness, straight for Michelangelo's face. He skidded to a halt, bringing the sai down in front of him, knowing as he did so that he wasn't going to be fast enough. He wasn't fast enough—not to save Leo, not to save Raph…and now, not even to save himself. Death sped towards him, shining blackly in the dim starlight—

And then the stars exploded, inches from his face. Mikey bellowed in surprise and stumbled backwards, blinded and confused, to land on his shell. He was dimly aware of hands on his shoulders, pulling him upright, and a voice saying something, unintelligible in Mikey's stunned ears. He shook his head hard, trying to clear his vision and his hearing—apparently exploding stars made one go deaf as well as blind—but the words still remained gibberish.

He blinked, painfully, willing his eyes to come back into focus, and stared up into an unfamiliar, blue-skinned face, illuminated by a flickering magenta light. Mikey stared. Blue-skinned…_wait_. That wasn't right, shouldn't he be seeing green? He blinked a few more times, wondering, for one terror-filled moment, if he was dead.

Then an olive green face, illuminated by the same flickering magenta light, inserted itself into his vision and he was momentarily left breathless as Donatello enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh…Mike you're alright, it's okay, you're alright…" Don was muttering feverishly, and Mike was startled to see tears streaming down his older brother's face.

"Uh…Don…what just happened?" Mikey asked hazily.

"You were almost as dumb as me," a gruff voice answered him before Don could, a painful hitch marring the last word. Raph! Mike scrambled free of Donatello's hug and ran forward to where Raph was slumped, another unfamiliar figure crouched over him. The figure also had blue skin, and Mike slowed, suddenly uncertain. Who were these people? He blinked. Blue skin…didn't the man they had tried to rescue before this whole mess happened have blue skin? He had opened his mouth to ask when he was interrupted by an unfamiliar male voice with a startling but unmistakably Australian accent, coming from behind him.

"Oh, so _that's_ the language you speak," the voice said calmly. "I should've known. Sorry about that, mate. I didn't have time to aim farther away."

"Is this really the time to be talking?" Another voice, female and British this time, demanded from in front of him, and Mike started when he realized it was the figure bending over Raph. "I can heal this," she muttered, her hands moving swiftly over Raph's injured side, "but not here. There's not enough time." Her tone turned frustrated.

"Is everyone okay?" Yet another voice interrupted, but this time Michelangelo recognized it. Cody, still inside Turtle X, came sprinting out of the darkness, closely followed by Master Splinter. His master gave a soft exclamation and hurried to Raph's side. Mike's relief was momentary at seeing them, immediately replaced by confusion. What was going on?

"Will someone please tell me what the shell just happened?" Mike demanded in a loud voice, before anyone could answer Cody. Everyone stopped for a second to stare at him, and the blue-skinned—Australian? —man smiled.

"Sure thing, mate. As soon as we're not about to be monster-food, that is."

Abruptly Michelangelo realized that there were still deafening roars echoing in the night and the sound of laser fire was suddenly all around him, as well as the shouts and screams of battle. The monsters were still out there. He turned to stare outward, towards the magenta light, and realized what he was seeing was a wall of pinkish flames, extending outwards into the night. Beyond the light, seething darkness hissed and spit, trying to come past the flames, reaching for them.

"It's a temporary shield," Don said softly. "They put it up when they rescued us. Oh, Mike…if they'd been a second slower…" he turned to the blue-skinned man. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Grinning a toothy smile—Mike blinked when he realized the man had fangs—the stranger waved Don off. "No problem. If you hadn'ta smashed the queen, we'd all be dead anyway. Where did you get those nifty cannons?"

"Jaxle," the woman interrupted in icy tones. "If we don't get a move on, the shield is going to fail and then we are all really going to die."

Jaxle's grin faded and he glared back at the woman. "What do you expect me to do about it? We've got nowhere to run now, the only thing we can do is hope the Commander gets here before we become hag-chow."

"And how long do you think that will take?" The woman shot back. "He wasn't exactly close, and even if he sent everyone on ahead of him, it will take too long for them to get there. Not to mention the three queens in the way."

Michelangelo swallowed hard. _Three_ _queens_? That meant that there were more of the ugly mother creatures out there.

Jaxle sighed and shook his head. "What else can we do? Just try to heal that'un and we'll hold 'em off."

"Wait," Cody said suddenly. He was looking at Don. "Do you think the dojo is damaged? I mean, it's not on this plane of existence, so to speak, so do you think it might have survived infection?"

Don stared at him for a second, his mouth open, before smacking himself in the forehead. "Shell, I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think about that before we jumped into this madhouse?"

Jaxle interrupted them. "What are you talking about?"

Don removed his hand from his face and looked up. "The ship, our ship, has a room that exists outside this plane. We were using it for training, and for storage space. Since it isn't actually a physical part of the ship right now…"

"Then it's a safe haven," Jaxle finished for him. "That's all I need to hear, no need for details. Can you lead us there?"

"Certainly," Don replied. "Except it's back in that direction." He pointed, out through the wall of pinkish fire, into the ocean-like mass of black.

The woman cursed, or at least Michelangelo assumed that's what she was doing, because the language was completely unfamiliar, even if her expression wasn't. Jaxle sighed. "Of course it is. Well, we don't have many of these left but I guess this counts as an emergency. The Commander's going to have my hide. Hejl! Quit messing around and get over here! Bring everybody else, too!"

A high pitched voice answered this peremptory summons. "Coming, sir! Hey everyone, this way!"

Michelangelo blinked as yet more strange figures emerged from the pink-tinged darkness. The person in the lead was as short as Jaxle was tall, maybe just under three feet, even shorter than Master Splinter. His skin, Mikey was absurdly pleased to note, was a bright shade of green, though it was a somewhat sickly color in the muted light of the flame barrier. He had bright blue eyes and a startling mop of thick orange hair, running in a spiky mohawk across his scalp and down his back, its tail end brushing the ground behind him. The most unusual feature was his large, wire-framed spectacles, their magnification making his eyes seem abnormally large. Behind him, three more figures followed, all of them sporting bright purple skin and long blue hair. These people were tall and graceful, almost willowy. The last figure that came behind them made Mikey gasp. He looked up—and up—into a craggy, rocky face, the skin a mottled green-brown. This creature was massive, broader across the shoulder than even Hun. He met Michelangelo's blue eyes with orbs of dark gold and gave him a slight, respectful nod. Mikey blinked, but he didn't have time to think about it as the shortest person skidded to a halt in front of him, looking up at all of them curiously. "Well." His high voice had an American accent, Mikey noted. "Boaz wasn't kidding when he said you look just like—" He cut off as Jaxle cuffed the back of his head.

"'Nuff talking, Hejl. You can yak their ears off later. Right now we've got to _go_. Still have a star bolt on ya?"

The little man sniffed. "Of course I do. You remember what happened the last time I used one without orders. I don't think I've ever seen him that mad—" Jaxle cut him off again.

"Yes, I remember, but if you don't use one now, you won't live long enough to get yelled at again. Get it out and use it! That way." Jaxle pointed a finger in the direction Don had indicated earlier, though it was slightly off. Mikey understood. Whatever a 'star bolt' was, he was certain they didn't want it hitting the Hovershell. Hejl nodded, muttering to himself as he reached into the pocket of the white trousers that covered his skinny lower half. He was wearing a white lab coat, too, of all things, though his green hairless chest was bare underneath the coat.

Mike gaped along with the rest of his family as the skinny little hand that had reached into the seemingly tiny pocket emerged with the largest hand-held weapon Michelangelo had ever seen. It looked like a rocket launcher, with a large barrel ended tube and a long padded back end made for bracing against one's shoulder. Jaxle proceeded to do as much, dropping to one knee and leveling the gun, while Hejl reached again into his magic pocket and produced a large missile. "Behold," he said gleefully, noting their expressions. "The star bolt."

Mikey was more interested in the man's impossible pocket. "What are you, Mary Poppins?" He asked, shaking his head. Raph snorted in spite of his injury and Don smiled.

Hejl blinked, reaching his free hand up to scratch at his orange mane. "Is she famous in your land? I am always interested in meeting famous people. Our most famous helidrian, Aerion, was two feet taller than me and was, some say, the smartest man in the universe." His face fell slightly. "Though that didn't save him from becoming one of the first victims of the—"

"HEJL." Jaxle's voice was sharp and tense. Mikey blinked at him, then suddenly realized that the flickering pink magenta light of the fire-barrier was almost non-existent now. He hastily glanced around at the group. Don and Splinter were standing side by side, trying to watch the darkness that was beginning to grow on either side of them. Cody had closed the hatch in Turtle X and the huge robot cradled Raph in his long metal arms. Raphael's expression was sour. Mikey couldn't blame him. Being wounded as he was and unable to keep up was most certainly rankling to the proud ninja. The woman hovered near them, anxiously bouncing on her toes, eager to go. The rest of the group stood motionless, simply waiting.

Hejl, for his part, only shrugged and shoved the massive bolt into the rocket launcher. Jaxle let out a breath. "Here we go. As soon as this goes off, run straight after it and don't stop running until you lead us to this ship of yours." His hand moved for the trigger, just as the last of the fire died and the darkness surged forward.

Michelangelo wasn't sure what he was expecting. A giant explosion? A huge super death ray? The star bolt was neither of those, but it was more amazing and terrifying than anything even his imagination could have conjured. The launcher kicked, but only slightly and the bolt rocketed straight out from the barrel, trailing orange sparks. Mike was just beginning to wonder if it would just plow a path for them bodily when it detonated, white sparks like a thousand twinkling stars erupting outward. The tiny stars flew out in all directions and where their light illuminated the night, he could see massive black bodies and razor sharp, silvery teeth. There were hundreds of the things out there! No, he realized. Thousands. The thought made Michelangelo feel sick. How could they possibly reach the ship in _that_? Despair threatened to overwhelm him, but then the multitude of tiny stars exploded.

A thousand flashes of light bloomed and a thousand screams echoed as the tiny stars became massive bolts of pure electricity, arcing down to slice easily through oily black flesh. Some bolts branched off the bigger ones, flashing outward to slice through more black bodies, others jumping from one bolt to another to kill yet more. Mike stared in disbelief. If they'd had a weapon like this, why didn't they use it from the start?

He learned why a second later when Jaxle grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. "Didn't I tell ya to run?" He yelled over the screams of dying monsters. Mike stumbled slightly and then righted himself, sprinting after the blue man just as a ragged slash of lightning speared the ground where he'd been standing. The others needed no more motivation. Together they charged forward, Don taking the lead, following in the wake of the deadly star bolt as flashes of light lit up the world around them.

Michelangelo wasn't aware of much during that deadly run, only the pounding of their footsteps, the flashes of illumination and the taste of fear in the back of his throat as they twisted and weaved and dodged tentacles and arcs of deadly light. They had been running forever, it seemed—he gave a startled cry and a grunt as he suddenly collided with a hard surface. The back of Turtle X loomed out of the darkness in front of him, and he could see the softer outlines of the others beyond him. "What? He asked, scrambling to his feet. "What's wrong?"

"Nuthin,'" came Raph's sarcastic answer. "Unless you count the several dozen monsters standing between us and the Hovershell." Mikey hurriedly scrambled to his feet and came around Turtle X to see better. Raph was right. Standing between them and the green hull of their goal was a wall of seething black. The creatures twisted and coiled around each other, hissing and screeching. Mike frowned. "Why aren't they attacking?"

"I knew it," Don said, watching the mass with narrowed eyes, glittering slightly in the lightning filled darkness. The star bolt had moved beyond them, but it's deadly attack was still lighting the night bright as day. His brainy brother shuddered. "I knew they were intelligent. They know we want to get to the ship."

"More intelligent than you know, mate," Jaxle murmured softly. "More intelligent than you know. Seems some of us are worth keepin'."

Don glanced at him sharply. "What do you mean by that?"

Jaxle was about to respond, when a small green shape darted past Michelangelo, one small hand once again reaching into a pocket. Mikey jumped as Hejl brushed past, having forgotten all about the little man during their flight. He blinked. How had somebody that small kept pace with the rest of them? Seemed he had more surprises in him than just a magic pocket. His hand came out of the pocket as he came even with Jaxle and Don and in it he held something small and round.

Jaxle's breathed hissed between his teeth. "Hejl, don't-!" he began, but it was too late. With a short toss of this hand, Hejl threw the whatever-it-was into the mass of creatures.

Mikey blinked and coughed as a cold hand shook his shoulder, an urgent and familiar voice calling his name. He knew that voice…but the fog in his brain wouldn't let him call a name to mind. Coughing still, he shook his head to clear it. What had just happened?

"Oh thank goodness, Mike," the voice was saying. Michelangelo looked up and Cody smiled down at him from the confines of Turtle X. Cody, Mikey thought hazily. That's the name. And Raph and Splinter and Serling, Jaxle, the woman and those others—he still hadn't gotten their names, he realized—and Hejl…

Hejl! Memory returned, of the little man throwing the small ball into the enemy…

"Ugh. What happened?"

Cody shook his head. "It was some kind of grenade. I managed to shield Raph with Turtle X, but it knocked the rest of you flat. Thank goodness you've only been out for a few seconds." Mikey looked around hastily, taking stock of the situation. Don and the blue-skinned woman were standing side by side, supporting a slumped and motionless Raph between them, and Jaxle was giving the little bespectacled man an earful.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to use those in close combat! Far away, I've told you, only _far away_!"

"It did the job," Hejl replied haughtily. Mikey realized he was right. The path to the ship was clear. Adrenaline surged and he scrambled to his feet.

"Let's go!" He shouted, starting forward. The others turned as one, but they only made it two steps before an awful screech, a familiar, horrifying call echoed from the darkness. Mikey felt his stomach plummet, even as a wriggling sensation started inside his skull.

"A queen!" Don shouted. "Shield yourselves!" Mike responded immediately, sinking slightly into meditation and the wriggling stopped. He was aware of his brothers, Splinter and Cody doing the same, but it seemed their rescuers were not so lucky. The woman dropped Raph's arm and staggered, her mouth opening in a silent scream as her eyes bulged with horror. Jaxle backed off from Hejl, shaking his head in denial, muttering curses in a language Mikey didn't recognize. Hejl collapsed to the rocky ground, his small body shuddering. The three willowy people clutched each other and howled. The only one who seemed less affected was the giant, who stood rock still, staring off in the distance towards the evil screech. _They can't fight it_, Mikey realized, with dawning horror. _They haven't trained like us_.

The screech sounded again, and Michelangelo knew one thing for certain. If they stayed out here any longer, they would die or be driven insane. He and his brothers could shield themselves from a psychic attack, but not forever. He made up his mind.

"Cody, get Jaxle and Hejl! Master, the woman! Uh, big guy…those three?" he called, wondering suddenly why in the world he was giving orders. Splinter and Cody didn't hesitate, each running for their assigned charges. The big man blinked and looked over at him, but to Michelangelo's relief, he moved, scooping up the purple skinned trio like they were children. Mike could see the darkness beginning to swell again as he ran for Raph and Don. Slipping an arm under Raph's shoulder, he began to run, following the others as they made for the ship. It was only a few steps—and a lifetime. As if sensing their intent, the attack on his mind suddenly intensified. He ignored it as best he could, sensing Don doing the same and suddenly the Hovershell loomed above them.

"Hang on to him," Don said hurriedly. "I need both my hands." Mike shifted, accepting all of Raph's weight, as the brainy turtle jumped onto the hull, drawing his Bo. He shoved one end of it under the cockpit hatch and wedged it open all the way before sheathing it and reaching down to help Mikey haul Raphael into the ship. Cody followed immediately, two figures tucked under either metal arm, and Splinter right behind them with the woman. The big alien was last, leaping with surprising lightness into the cockpit. Another angry screech echoed through the night and the mental assault multiplied a hundred-fold.

"Everyone, grab on to each other!" Splinter yelled. "Donatello, quickly!" The purple clad terrapin touched his bracelet and Mike breathed a sigh as the world started shimmering around them. He slid an arm out from under Raph and Don staggered and looked up at him as he was suddenly forced to compensate for Raphael's weight.

"Mike…what are you doing?"

Michelangelo smiled at him, doing his best not to let the fear choking him show. "There's no way to tell if changing dimensions will stop that thing's psychic attack," he said softly. "I won't let you get hurt. I promise."

Raph moved at those words, painfully raising his head. "No," he rasped, don't you dare—" but Mikey was already reaching for his own bracelet. He looked back only long enough to make sure his brothers disappeared before the world solidified around him and he jumped out into monster-filled darkness.

* * *

Just an fyi, as I was re-reading this, I realized something and here's the answer, lol…no, I didn't steal the looks of Jaxle and the woman from James Cameron…these guys had blue skin before Avatar, and they wouldn't be caught dead mining something with a name as lame as 'unobtainium…'…though I did like that movie

Please R&R and so sorry for the unacceptable wait!


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